


On the Wings of Change

by Child_of_the_Fae



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gabriel is still not a good person in this, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Marc, Kwami Swap, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peacock!Marinette, Temp hero Nathaniel, mentor Gabriel Agreste, non-villain Gabriel Agreste
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25005829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Child_of_the_Fae/pseuds/Child_of_the_Fae
Summary: Thanks to setting off to school just that little bit earlier, Marinette misses her destiny as Ladybug and someone else earns the earrings. But Marinette's destiny is still to be a hero, just in feathers rather than spots, thanks to being noticed by a certain fashion designer who has his own history and takes her under his wing.(Rewrite of Rise of Paonne and Renard Rouge)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 108





	1. The Ladyblog Archives

**Author's Note:**

> This is a heavy rewrite of my story “Rise of Paonne and Renard Rouge”, which can still be found in my story archive, though it is forever unfinished.  
> Basically, I started that story with just the first season as reference, had only vague ideas of what I wanted to do, tried to Frankenstein in elements of later seasons even though the story hadn’t been written for them, had no idea how to get from plot point A to plot point B, and started focusing way too heavily on original characters and the lore, rather than story.  
> So, this story is a fresh start. I’ve actually written out a chapter-by-chapter plan, working out what aspects of the three seasons currently out I wanted to integrate and what I had to get rid of to suit my story ahead of time. So, hopefully I won’t fall into the trap of focusing too heavily on the world building or the original characters, to the point that I’m just digging a deeper hole in an attempt to get out, like last time. And if season four comes out while I’m still writing, I won’t have to care as much since I already have my plan and will know if adding in future season’s elements will throw everything off or not.  
> I’ve tried to stick close to the original story for fans of that version, but many changes have been made in integrating aspects from all three seasons, my changing view of the characters, and shaving off the unneeded lore dumps.

Gabriel Agreste sat in his office, the room completely dark save for the lights illuminating the portrait of his wife that he was staring at with fingers steepled.

He didn’t look away from the visage of his wife as his door gave a quiet knock and then opened, revealing Natalie.

“Sir, Adrien is bed, and seems to be doing completely fine, health wise. No aftereffects from Style Queen’s actions.” Natalie reported.

“Thank you, Natalie.” Gabriel said. “You are dismissed.”

Natalie nodded but didn’t move.

“…Do I need to get the lights replaced?” She asked cautiously.

“No.” Gabriel told his assistant simply. “Please leave.”

“Yes sir.” Natalie said reluctantly, leaving and closing the door behind her.

Gabriel stared up at his wife for a little longer before swinging around in his chair to face his desk.

Gabriel’s face is lit up as he turns on his computer, opened his browser and clicked on the bookmarked link named ‘Ladyblog’.

A pink page opened up, with a scroll of posts in the middle and a red and black dotted silhouette to one side.

The man then clicked in the tab labelled ‘Archives’, revealing a more organised page that split the posts into months.

Gabriel scrolled to the very bottom and opened the first post, displaying some text and a video.

_‘Guys, this is insane! Today, I got to see a real-life superhero and supervillain fight! A classmate of mine got turned into a big rock creature somehow and went after another classmate. And then a hero showed up to fight him and free him from evil._

_This is so awesome!_

_Just watch!’_

_The video played, showcasing some very shaky footage that was clearly taken with a phone camera._

_The person behind the camera hid behind a barrier, peering into a football stadium as a humanoid made of stone stomped across the field, after a teenage boy._

_“Not so fast!”_

_A female in purple appeared, jumping down from the roof of the stadium and situating herself in between the boy and stone creature._

_“You will not take another step, villain!” The female said._

_She then turned her head, looking directly into the phone camera._

_“Don’t worry, Iris is here to save the day!” She announced._

_“Get out of my way!” The stone creature growled._

_Iris laughed as she jumped back, avoiding a stone fist._

_She then jumped above the creature’s head and withdrew a blade from the cane she held, attacking from behind._

_The blade seemed to do nothing as it glanced off the stone creature._

But Gabriel’s eyes zeroed in on the fuzzy image of Iris’ fist clenching as she struck. And at the same time, the stone creature groaned, as if in pain.

_“Come on, you’ve got to try harder to beat me.” Iris boasted._

Gabriel watched as Iris clenched her fist again while she attacked with her other hand, the stone creature once again acting as if it was in pain.

_Iris dodged a return attack and raised her blade again, but then looked around, the camera unable to pick up what her exact facial expression was. But then the supposed hero shook her head and jumped further away from the stone villain._

_“Come on then.” Iris goaded. “Come after me.”_

_Behind the camera, the holder gasped, as if in realisation._

_“I think she’s trying to lure Ivan away from us.” The recorder, a female, said. “Such a hero.”_

_“It’s not you I’m after.” The villain growled, looking back at the boy he had been chasing._

_Though, the villain didn’t move to go after his previous target, as if debating switching his new target of his anger to Iris._

_Iris clenched her fist again, and once again the stone villain hunched in pain, this time without the hero attack with her blade._

_“Fine then.” Iris released her hand._

_The supposed hero then jumped over to the boy, picking him up._

_“Come get us then.” Iris invited, jumping out of the stadium._

_This time the stone villain did follow, leaving a large dent in the ground as he jumped out of the stadium after Iris and the boy._

_“I hope that she can protect Kim.” The recorder of the video said as she started running through the stadium and outside, following the sounds of commotion until she found the villain and hero again, this time in a more public area._

_In the corners and background, the camera picked up many other people recording the fight with their phones._

_Focusing in on Iris, the camera caught the supposed hero nodding as she looked towards the crowd._

_“Your tyranny ends her, villain!” Iris proclaimed, pointing her blade at the stone villain._

_She raced towards the villain, who was ready to meet her with his stone fists._

_Just before they clashed, the stone villain hunched in pain again, allowing Iris to slice at him without being hit herself._

_At first, Iris’ attack seemed to do nothing._

_But then the stone creature was covered in some sort of dark purple substance, which quickly disappeared to reveal a teenage boy, who looked incredibly confused._

_From the confused boy’s hands, a dark purple butterfly flew out and disappeared into the sky._

_People around started cheering for Iris’ victory._

_The recorder quickly raced up the Iris, the video blurring from how excited they were._

_“So, Iris, right?” The recorder asked._

_Iris grinned as she turned towards her, looking into the camera rather than where the girl’s head would be._

_“That’s me.” Iris said, sounding very satisfied._

_“Are you really a hero? Like, an actual superhero? And do you have a statement for what just happened?”_

_Iris’ grinned even wider._

_“Of course. That poor boy-” Iris motioned vaguely to Ivan. “Was possessed by evil. And as a hero, I will stop all villains possessed by this evil.”_

_“So, we’ll be seeing more of you?”_

_“Definitely.”_

_Iris was interrupted by the sound of beeping._

_She looked down at her chest to see the broach with four long points coming out of it like wings blinking before loosing one of its wings._

_Iris frowned before quickly switching back to a grin as she looked up._

_“Well, I’ve got to go. Hero duties to do elsewhere.” She said._

_Iris then turned and ran off._

_The camera turned so that the girl holding the phone had her face showing, revealing another teenager._

_“Well, there we have it. A real superhero in Paris. This is so cool!” The teen said._

The recording then ended.

The text continued under the video.

_‘Not much is known yet, but if Iris is correct, then we should get to see her more as she fights this unknown evil. And we’ll hopefully get more clarification the next time she shows up._

_In honour of our new hero, I’m creating this blog to keep track of all things Iris and villainy._

_This is Alya introducing, Eye on Iris.’_

Gabriel opened up the next post, which showcased a freezeframe of the footage just after the attack ended.

A red circle was drawn on the image and an enlarged image of inside the circle was displayed next to it, showing two blurred figures standing on the roof. One of the figures stood out, being dressed in red while the other was almost completely black.

_‘A friend of mine noticed this while we were watching my recording._

_This can’t just be normal people, or why would they be on the roof like that?_

_So, are these the actual villains behind what happened to my classmate, like Iris warned, or are they other heroes like Iris?_

_Thoughts?’_

Gabriel ignored the comment section underneath the post and moved onto the next one, which was short.

_‘People in Paris are turning into replicas of my possessed classmate. They seem to be completely frozen. I’ll update if anything happens.’_

Below was a picture of exactly what the blog owner, Alya, had said.

Gabriel quickly moved to the next post.

_‘My classmate has been possessed again and taken two other classmates hostage. I am following after and recording live.’_

Gabriel skipped though most of the video showing Alya racing through Paris while recording the villain’s destructive wake, until the teen comes across someone dressed in black with cat ears and a mask, battling with the now-active stone beings.

 _“Woah, another superhero.”_ _Alya gasped. “Who are you?”_

_“Just call me Chat Noir.” The male hero winked._

_He then had to quickly defend himself from attack, clearly struggling._

_“Ladybird, where are you?” Chat Noir complained out loud._

_“Who is he talking about?” Alya wondered aloud._

_Then, one of the stone beings knocked a car towards Alya._

_Just before the teen could be crushed, something wrapped around the car and stopped it._

_“Are you okay?”_

_The camera shifted to look at a new person, dressed in a red and black costume with a short cape and braided hair with beads._

_“Yes, thank you.” The blog owner said. “Who are you?”_

_“Ladybird, I guess.” The person, another female, shrugged. “Get to safety.”_

_Ladybird threw an object she held in her hands, a yoyo of all things, and swung away on it, in the direction that the stone clones were marching. Quickly joined by Chat Noir._

_“Hey, wait!”_ _The blog owner quickly ran after the seemingly new hero._

Gabriel skipped through another lot of running, until the blog owner reached the fight at the Eiffel Tower.

_From the ground, the fight could only be watched from a distance. But Iris could be seen doing battle with the stone villain again, while Ladybird and Chat Noir made their way up to them._

_The fight ended just as the two new heroes made it, resulting in the possessed teen and the hostage he’d been holding being sent to the ground now that he no longer had the strength or size to keep them on the tower._

_Ladybird and Chat Noir jumped after the falling victims, Chat Noir somehow destroying part of the tower to slide down it and catch the boy, while Ladybird swung her yoyo at something unseen and then caught the hostage and activated a parachute in her colours that had seemingly come from nowhere._

_Placing the girl she had saved on the ground, Ladybird then opened her yoyo, releasing a pure white butterfly._

_Iris landed on the ground near them, walking over._

_“Thanks for the help, but I would have saved them. And I could have caught that Akuma too.” Iris addressed Ladybird and Chat Noir. “Ah!”_

_Iris barely managed to deflect the yoyo sent her way with her cane._

_“What’s your deal?” The supposed hero demanded angrily._

_“Why are they attacking Iris, I thought they were heroes?” Alya gasped._

_Chat Noir had his staff pointed at Iris while Ladybird readied her yoyo again._

_“Your façade isn’t going to work on us, Iris.” Chat Noir said._

_“Wh-what do you mean?” Iris stepped away as the other two heroes began to approach her._

_“The Butterfly Miraculous, which grants the wielder the ability to create champions through the use of empowered butterflies. Or, in your case, the ability to create villains.” Ladybird said loudly and clearly so that everyone could hear, sounding as if she was quoting someone or something._

_Iris’ eyes widened, realising that the two heroes knew the truth._

_“Wait, what?” Alya gasped in disbelief. “Iris is behind all this?”_

_“No, of course not.” Iris denied. “They’re the villains. They’re just trying to discredit me.” She pointed at Ladybird and Chat Noir._

_“Who do we trust?” A person out of camera shot asked._

_“Wait, that boy was possessed by a butterfly, and Iris is butterfly themed.” Another said in realisation._

_Ladybird took another step forward. “Hand over your Miraculous, before you hurt more people.”_

_Iris backed away again before turning heel and running away as fast as she could._

_Ladybird and Chat Noir quickly gave pursuit, but then Iris proved herself a villain by using her blade to slice several lampposts, billboards and powerlines as she ran, forcing the two heroes to stop chasing her and save people from getting hurt, allowing her to escape._

_“She got away.” Ladybird stomped her foot._

_“We’ll get her next time.” Chat Noir placed a hand on Ladybird’s shoulder._

_Ladybird nodded and then grabbed her parachute, quickly tucking it back into its bag and then tossing it into the air._

_“Miraculous Ladybird!”_

_The bag burst into light that washed over everything the phone could see._

_“Woah!” Alya said as she panned the camera up, showing that the Eiffel Tower had been restored. “She really is the hero.”_

_When Alya moved the camera back, Ladybird and Chat Noir were already gone._

_“Gone.” Alya huffed._

_Like last time, Alya turned the camera to face herself._

_“This has certainly been a crazy day, Iris turns out to be a villain, and we get not one but who new heroes in her place.”_

_The recording then stopped._

_‘With Iris having revealed herself as a villain, and Ladybird and Chat Noir proving themselves to be the true heroes, I need to rename this blog.  
Say goodbye to Eye on Iris and say hello to the Ladyblog.’_

…

Gabriel skimmed through the next lot of blog posts, detailing more of the citizens of Paris being turned into supervillains by Iris, who had clearly embraced her role as villain, and being saved by Ladybird and Chat Noir.

While the villain had not shown herself since being exposed, her Akumatised victims made in very clear what her new goal was, to destroy Ladybird and Chat Noir, likely for revealing the truth about her.

The next post that Gabriel stopped to look at came with a big title, _‘A new Villain?!’_.

An image showed a blurred figure of orange and purple fighting against Ladybird.

_‘A new villain seems to have appeared. And they’re not an Akuma, as the new villain was spotted fighting alongside the heroes with the Akumatised victim, Prime Queen._

_Just who is this new villain?_

_Eye-witness accounts claim that she is fox-themed, while others claim a butterfly theme, like Iris.’_

Gabriel moved onto the next post which came with a much clearer image of the “new villain”, showing a familiar face.

_‘The new villain turns out to be Iris._

_After referencing images of Iris, it has been revealed that Iris is the villain who was seen fighting alongside Prime Queen._

_It appears as if Iris has gained a second power somehow, which has emboldened her to fight against the heroes instead of hiding away in her lair like before._

_But though Iris may have more power, this also means that the heroes have the ability to take her down during a fight and end her tyranny.’_

Gabriel enlarged the image of the newly powered Iris, focusing in on the fox-tailed necklace that hung just under the butterfly broach she wore.

On another screen, Gabriel brought up a news article.

 _‘Chinese collection stolen!’_ Screamed the headline.

The article went on to describe the theft but Gabriel was only concerned with the accompanying image which detailed every item that had been part of the collection, zeroing in on and enlarging one of the necklaces. A necklace shaped like a foxtail.

Gabriel compared the two foxtail necklaces and frowned at them being perfectly identical.

He then clicked on the follow-up news article.

 _‘Chinese collection returned, mostly.’_ Was the headline.

This time, Gabriel did pay attention to the text article, reading how the collection was anonymously returned, minus the foxtail necklace and a book.

Gabriel focused in on the missing book, frowning even harder.

He then turned back to the Ladyblog, skimming through the next couple of posts detailing Ladybird and Chat Noir struggling but winning against Iris and her Akumatised victim.

The next post he stopped back came with another catching title.

_‘A new hero hits the scene!’_

The accompanying photo showed a male superhero fighting alongside Ladybird and Chat Noir, dressed in red and black.

_‘Unfortunately, yours truly was involved in this Akuma attack, through my own twin sisters being turned into the multiplying villains Sapotis._

_Due to my personal involvement, I was unable to see the action, but a loyal fan of the blog sent me some pictures and an account of what happened._

_Ladybird and Chat Noir were apparently struggling against so many duplicates and Iris, until Ladybird briefly left and returned with a new hero to aid them._

_The dragon-themed hero, who went by the name Ladon, apparently showed the ability to become literal wind, gathering up all the items that the Sapois duplicates wore to be destroyed at the same time, as well as destroying Iris’ illusion._

_I can’t wait to see more of this new hero for myself.’_

Gabriel skipped through the next few posts, detailing more attacks with just Ladybird and Chat Noir on the hero team, leaving the blog owner to wonder why Ladon hadn’t appeared again.

 _‘Yet another new hero!’_ The next title Gabriel stopped at screamed.

It also came with a picture of the supposed new hero, this time dressed in orange and yellow with some sort of bird theme.

_‘Your girl was once again caught up in an Akuma attack involving a family relation, with my older sister becoming Anansi to show how strong she was._

_Ladybird once again disappeared during the fight. But instead of bringing in Ladon to help out, she brought back an entirely new hero._

_Phoenix, as he was called, helped give Ladybird and Chat Noir the strength and speed they needed to defeat my sister. By RPG terms, he’d be the buffer of the team._

_I managed to catch a very short interview with the heroes before they left, getting some answers about the whereabouts of Ladon. Apparently, both Ladon and Phoenix are temporary heroes, only for Ladybird to call on when they need a little extra help._

_So, at least we know that Ladon hasn’t abandoned us, and Phoenix won’t either._

_I wonder if other heroes will show up with Ladybird, or if it’ll just be Ladon and Phoenix.’_

Gabriel once again skipped through posts, stopping briefly at the mention at yet another male hero, this time a Snake-themed hero named Krait.

The next post wasn’t covering an Akuma attack, but rather a theory made by Alya about all the temp’ heroes who had shown up.

_‘Are Ladon, Phoenix and Krait the same hero?’_

A picture of all three heroes edited to be next to each other was placed under the title, giving an easy visual aid to show how similar they were.

‘ _A question many of us have had is why Ladybird doesn’t bring more than one back-up to tough fights, and I think I have the answer. It’s because there is only one ally, using different powers._

_If you look at their hair, while each is styled differently, you can see that it’s the same colour. The same with their eyes._

_All three heroes can be seen to have the same height and body type._

_And though I don’t have reference for Ladon, I can say that Krait’s voice sounded very similar to Phoenix’s voice._

_Unless they’re triplets, it’s very clear to me that Ladon, Phoenix and Krait are all the same hero, just in different costumes and different powers._

_So, just who is this hero, who uses multiple powers, which I believe also come from Miraculouses, and why does he only appear occasionally? Is it him who owns all these Miraculous? And does he know the identities behind Ladybird and Chat Noir?’_

Gabriel frowned at the analysis.

While the teen’s evidence was quite bare, he was inclined to believe her conclusion about the temp’ heroes.

Ladybird, and perhaps Chat Noir, seemingly only had one ally that they trusted with a Miraculous to aid them in battle, giving out different Miraculous depending on the situation.

On one hand, it was a wise plan.

The temp’ hero was clearly a trusted ally, who Ladybird trusted to not run off with the Miraculous given and become like Iris, and the permanent heroes knew that they could fight alongside him. Adding another ally could complicate matters and risk the new hero not being as trusted as Ladon/Phoenix/Krait.

On the other hand, limiting themselves to only one ally was putting the heroes at a disadvantage.

Even with Krait’s help, the heroes had struggled to win the previous fight, only saved by the abilities of the Snake Miraculous. If Ladybird had chosen a different Miraculous to give her ally, Iris would have won.

And with Iris only seeming to grow stronger, the heroes would need more than one ally, no matter what Miraculous he was given. Especially considering-

Gabriel went to the latest post in the Ladyblog’s archive, which wasn’t even a day old.

 _‘Style Queen on the scene_.’ Was the name the creator of the blog had given it.

_‘Not even a day in the country and the Queen of ~~Mean~~ Fashion, Audrey Bourgeois, was Iris’ latest victim._

_Apparently not happy that she wasn’t given star privileges at Gabriel’s Agreste’s fashion show event, Mrs Bourgeois was Akumatised into the glitter themed villain Style Queen, who turned Mr Agreste’s son into a glitter statue along with several other attendees of the fashion show, then threatened to permanently turn Adrien into glitter if Mr Agreste didn’t show himself._

_From my own view of events Chat Noir seemed entirely absent from today’s fight, leaving Ladybird to fight on her own. I was unfortunately turned into a glitter statue myself before I could view the end of the fight, but Ladybird clearly won as usual; whether Chat Noir or their hero ally showed up after I was taken out is unknown.’_

Gabriel frowned even heavier at the image of his son as a glitter statue, nails digging into his palms at how close he’d come to losing his son to Iris’ senseless violence and Style Queen’s amplified pettiness.

Gabriel turned off the Ladyblog with a heavy sigh.

“Oh, Emilie.” Gabriel turned around to face the portrait of his wife again. “These villain attacks have put Adrien in more and more danger, and today we almost lost him. And the heroes are no closer to putting a stop to Iris and her Akumas, even when she revealed herself again.”

Gabriel placed his hand on the portrait of his wife, caressing it gently before pulling it back, revealing a safe.

Opening the safe, Gabriel regarded the contents before picking up a jewelled broach shaped like a fan.

Gabriel closed his safe and the portrait so that he could once again look at the visage of his wife.

“Something needs to be done.” Gabriel said, looking at the broach in his hand.

He moved to pin the broach to his jacket but hesitated, before ultimately dropping his hands.

“I’m sorry, Emilie, but I can’t.” Gabriel apologised, looking at the painting’s face. “Not without you.”

The man looked back down at the broach.

“But I can’t just abandon Adrien either.” He spoke his dilemma.

Gabriel was pulled from his thoughts by an Email alert pinging on his computer.

Turing around, he opened the email.

_‘To: Mr Agreste_

_From: Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_Hello, Mr Agreste_

_Sorry for emailing so late, but I’d like to know whether I’ll still be coming in tomorrow, considering today’s events._

_Not that I’m trying to pry or anything._

_Sincerely, Marinette Dupain-Cheng’_

Gabriel read over the email from the girl he had given an apprenticeship to. A rare thing, but the girl had impressed him in multiple ways.

The fashion designer was just about to confirm that he would give his apprentice the day off, when a thought occurred to him.

He looked over to the broach.

“No, don’t be stupid, Gabriel.” The man shook his head.

But as he composed his response, the idea kept growing, seeming more and more reasonable as it circled around in his head, stopping Gabriel from sending the email.

Finally, Gabriel sighed in defeat, deleting the email and composing a new one, sending it off before he could regret his decision.

_‘To: Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

_From: Gabriel Agreste_

_Miss Dupain-Cheng_

_You will be required to come to my office tomorrow, as there is an urgent matter that I wish to discuss with you in private._

_None of your usual tools will be required tomorrow._

_Gabriel Agreste’_


	2. Thoughts of an Aspiring Designer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's view of things from Origins to the start of this story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be a bit disjointed, as it’s a summary of Marinette’s view of events from Origins to Style Queen. I was going to have the chapter be in the form of diary entries like Gabriel reading the Ladyblog last chapter, but I didn’t want to be solely limited to Marinette’s POV, just have the focus on her.

(First day of school)

Marinette had a bad habit of sleeping through her alarm, brought about by her occasional obsessive fashion design, where she would progress long into the night trying to get something done. And with the Summer holidays allowing her to wake up later in the day, her sleep schedule was completely messed up.

But for her first day back at school after the Summer holidays, Marinette decided to make sure that she wouldn’t sleep in and wake up with plenty of time to spare.

“Wahh!” Marinette cried out in shock as extremely loud music went off straight into her ears.

The teen quickly pulled out the earbuds she had placed in the night before, rubbing her tender earholes while also trying to calm her heart.

It was a horrible way to wake up, but the best way to ensure that she didn’t just sleep through her regular alarm.

Stumbling through her morning routine, Marinette was able to get breakfast and out the door in a timely manner.

She crossed the road without incident, walked into the school, and made it to homeroom to sit in her usual seat.

From her seat, Marinette watched as a girl she had never seen before entered the classroom and stopped at the front, as if judging where to sit.

Looking around the seats, Marinette could see that there were no desks completely empty, meaning that the new girl was trying to choose which classmate, who were all strangers to her, was the safest to make her desk mate.

Deciding that this would be the year to make some proper friends, Marinette spoke to the new girl.

“You can sit next to me, if you want?” She invited.

“Oh, really?” The new girl questioned with a smile. “Thank you so much.”

The new girl stuck Marinette as slightly over-enthusiastic in tone with thanking her, but she was happy that she could help the new girl out.

“I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Marinette held out her hand.

“Lila Rossi.” The girl smiled as she shook back. “I just moved to Paris.”

“Cool.” Marinette said. “Where did you live before?”

“Italy.” Lila answered. “My mum’s a diplomat, you know.”

“Really?” Marinette’s eyes widened. “That’s a really important job.”

“It is. And I’ve met so many people thanks to my mum’s travels.” Lila said. “Just before I moved, I managed to make great friends with Prince Ali from Achu. He was really impressed with the charity work I’ve done.”

“You’ve met Prince Ali?” One of the classmates, Rose, jumped over from her own desk to talk to Lila.

“Yep.” Lila said in satisfaction.

“That’s amazing.” Rose sighed with a hand on her heart. “I hope that I can meet him one day too. I just want to thank him in person for all the charity work he’s done.”

“Well, maybe I can talk to him about meeting you.” Lila suggested.

“Really? That’d be so awesome.” Rose jumped up and down on the balls of her feet in excitement.

Marinette listened to the two without interrupting.

Lila knowing someone like Prince Ali sounded a bit farfetched. But then again, why would someone say they knew a Prince, a statement everyone would be suspicious of, if it wasn’t true?

Slumping on her desk slightly, Marinette was reminded of the macarons she was given by her dad to share with the class.

“Uh, macaron?” She held open the box.

“Yay, thank you, Marinette.” Rose thanked, taking one of the treats.

“Oh, my favourite.” Lila said, taking another.

The rest of the class quickly moved to grab their own macaron.

Unseen by anyone, Lila took the opportunity to drop her macaron to the ground with a hidden sneer of disgust.

Then Chloe showed up and decided to ruin Marinette’s good mood.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Those are our seats.” Chloe demanded.

“But Chloe, this has always been my seat.” Marinette argued with a frown.

“Not anymore.” Sabrina chimed. “New year, new seats.”

“Well, we’re both already sat here.” Marinette defended.

“And you can stand right back up and sit somewhere else.” Chloe made a shooing motion. “There’s plenty of room next to the other new girl, the brute and the tomato. So, you can both choose separate seats or ask one of them to move if you want to sit together. Adrien is coming today, and since that’s going to be his seat,” Chloe pointed at the seat in front of Marinette. “This is going to be my seat. Got it?”

“Who’s Adrien?” Marinette questioned.

Chloe and Sabrina laughed at her.

“You don’t know Adrien? What rock have you been living under?” Chloe laughed.

Lila gasped next to Marinette.

“Wait, you don’t mean Adrien Agreste, the model?” She asked.

“The very same.” Chloe said smugly. “He’s _my_ best friend and he adores me. So, move.”

“Hey! Who made you queen of seats?” The other new girl spoke up.

“Oh, look, Sabrina. We’ve got a do-gooder in our class this year. She thinks that she can stand up to me?” Chloe mocked. “What are you going to do, shoot lasers at me through your glasses?

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” The girl said, unphased.

She then walked over to Marinette and pulled her out of her seat, almost making her trip.

“Come on, you can sit next to me.” The girl said.

With one issue dealt with, Chloe turned her attention to Lila.

“You too.” She ordered.

“But now you have a seat free. And I’m really tired from helping my sick grandma this morning.” Lila gave excuses.

“Sabrina needs to sit there.” Chloe dismissed. “It’s best for my work.”

“I-I don’t want to cause trouble.” Lila appeared meek, causing everyone to glare at Chloe.

Unfortunately for them, Chloe was immune to their stares.

“Then move and you won’t have any.” Chloe said.

Seeing that Chloe wasn’t going to cave to peer pressure, and deciding to pick her battles, Lila reluctantly got out of her seat, allowing Chloe and Sabrina to slide into their new spots.

“Are you alright?” Marinette asked.

“Yes.” Lila said. “It’s just, I’m near sighted, so I’m going to struggle to see the board from any further away. Would either of you mind moving so I can see the board?”

Marinette looked to her desk mate and then sighed.

“I’ll move.” She volunteered before the other girl could.

“Aw, thank you so much.” Lila smiled widely as Marinette grabbed her bag and left the seat, allowing Lila to sit in her place.

As Marinette climbed the stairs, Chloe suddenly screamed out.

“My shoes!”

Everyone turned to see Chloe waving about her foot, trying to rid herself of the crushed remains of a macaron.

“You!” Chloe accused Marinette.

“I swear that I didn’t drop any.” Marinette defended herself.

“You must have not noticed.” Lila said, not admitting that she was the one to blame.

“Marinette, please clean it up.” Miss Bustier told her student.

Marinette sighed and crouched under the desk to gather up the crushed pieces of macaron, depositing them in the bin before choosing her final desk placement at the very back next to Nathaniel.

The teen practically slumped into her seat as class finally started.

She was barely there ten minutes and it already felt like a long day.

…

“Sorry that you had to go to the back.” Marinette’s new friend, Alya, apologised as she and Marinette hung out in the library.

“It’s fine.” Marinette waved off. “You and Lila need to be at the front more. And I’m fine sitting with Nathaniel.”

“Still, it’s super sucky of that blond girl to force you and Lila out of your seats like that. Who does she think she is?”

“The mayor’s daughter, unfortunately.” Marinette answered. “She’s able to get away with everything because she continuously threatens people, including the teachers, with her father’s power.”

“That’s so messed up.” Alya gasped.

Marinette nodded. “But an unfortunate fact of life at this school.” She sighed.

“Well, just because she’s used to getting her way, doesn’t mean that we can’t stand up to her. Just like Majestia says, ‘all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing’.” Alya showed off a superheroine on her phone. “And that girl is evil. While as good people, we can’t let her get away with it.”

“That’s easier said than done. She likes to make my life miserable.” Marinette said.

“That’s because you let her.” Alya said. “You just need some more confidence.”

“Yeah.” Marinette said.

Marinette then looked around.

“Is Lila back from the toilet yet?” She asked.

The new friends were then interrupted by the building shaking so badly that they were sent to the floor.

They quickly ran over to the security camera screens that were displayed in the library, watching as a humanoid stone creature stomped outside while screaming.

Marinette gasped as she recognised the voice of her classmate Ivan, who had been sent to the headmaster after threatening Kim in class.

“It’s as if he’s been transformed into a real-life super villain!” Alya said gleefully, quickly checking over her belongings as she prepared to leave.

“Wait, where are you going?” Marinette questioned.

“Where there’s a supervillain, there’s always a superhero close behind.” Alya said knowingly. “No way I’m missing this.”

Marinette’s new friend then ran off, leaving her alone to worry with the other students in the library.

…

“Eye on Iris.” Alya showed off her new blog to Marinette and Lila. “Bringing you all the news about the coolest new superhero, Iris!”

“This is great.” Lila complimented. “Iris definitely deserves a blog dedicated to her.”

“It looks good.” Marinette agreed. “But why do you trust Iris so much already? I mean, all these stone beings…”

“Don’t worry, Marinette.” Lila stated, sounding almost harsh. “Iris easily defeated Stoneheart before. She’s sure to fix this problem just as easily.

“I hope so.” Marinette said, not fully convinced.

It was scary for one of her classmates to turn into a supervillain out of his own control.

And it was even scarier to imagine it happening to other people, especially her new friends and classmates.

“Don’t worry. I saw Iris with my own two eyes and she was absolutely awesome, she’s a true superheroine and sure to save us all.” Alya tried to comfort Marinette.

Unseen by Marinette and Alya, Lila’s grin was growing progressively bigger as she drank in the praise for Iris.

The three new friends stopped when they overheard Ivan being quizzed by his classmates about his transformation the previous day.

Their questioning clearly wasn’t malicious, but it was still bothering the boy who was just as confused as them.

Then, of course, Chloe decided to make her appearance to make fun of Ivan, rubbing his actions in to make him feel worse, until Ivan stormed off.

“I’ll go talk to Ivan.” Marinette said, walking off after the angry boy.

Frowning angrily, Alya chose to go confront Chloe.

Lila looked in between the two girls before smirking and quickly walking off in her own direction.

…

After comforting Ivan and helping him with his confession to Mylene, Marinette rejoined Alya as they walked to class together.

Marinette wrinkled her nose in disgust when she found an unknown boy seemingly planting gum on Lila’s seat

“Hey, what are you doing?” Marinette called out, not happy that a prank was being pulled on Lila, who wasn’t even there yet.

Chloe and Sabrina laughed, making it clear to Marinette that they were also behind the mean prank in some way.

They had likely decided that Marinette’s seat was too far up and decided to target Lila instead, for trying to defend her seat the previous day.

The boy tried to defend himself but Marinette wasn’t buying it, a friend of Chloe’s wasn’t likely to be honest or nice.

Marinette placed a tissue over the gum.

“Make sure to warn Lila when she arrives.” She instructed Alya as her friend sat down.

Alya gave her the thumbs up while Marinette climbed up to her own seat, making sure that nothing had been planted on her own seat.

Miss Bustier only barely started taking the register when the re-Akumatised Ivan burst into the classroom, grabbing both Mylene and Chloe before storming off.

“Oh no, I guess Ivan’s confession didn’t go well.” Marinette said to herself from where she was ducked down at her desk with Nathaniel.

“Come on, let’s follow him.” Alya said eagerly, running over to Marinette.

“Uh…” Marinette looked at the large hole in her classroom. “No thanks. I’d rather go find a safe place to hide and wait out the attack.” She shook her head.

“Girl, you’re going to miss all the Iris action.” Alya said.

“And I’ll be much safer for it.” Marinette pointed out.

“If you say so.” Alya shrugged, running off once again.

“That girl is crazy, going into danger like that.” Nathaniel muttered.

“I guess she’s just passionate.” Marinette responded.

“We better hope that passion protects her then.” Nathaniel said. “Or that Iris can protect her while fighting.”

Marinette frowned as she nodded in agreement.

…

“So, I’ve renamed Eye on Iris to the Ladyblog, so that it’s about the real heroes.” Alya explained to Marinette and Lila as they walked into school.

“Are you sure that you want to jump the gun again?” Marinette questioned. “I mean, you made the blog for Iris before really knowing her, and now you’ve changed the blog for Ladybird and Chat Noir without really knowing who they are.”

“Yeah.” Lila quickly agreed. “And, I mean, how can we be so sure that Iris is a villain. Ladybird and Chat Noir just showed up and claimed her to be one, and now everyone is just believing them over her, even though she’s the one who saved the day.”

“You weren’t there, girl.” Alya shook her head. “Ladybird and Chat Noir were the ones to save Ivan and Mylene, and I heard that Ladybird was also the one to save Chloe. Then, Iris put people in danger to escape the two when they chased her, and they actually stopped to help people. Then Ladybird did this thing where she undid all the damage done by both Stoneheart and Iris. They’re the real deal.”

Lila tightened her hand around her bag strap.

“Well, I’m going to reserve my judgement for now.” She said to sound reasonable. “I don’t trust Ladybird and Chat Noir just yet.” She paused for a second as she thought of something. “In fact, I got a little banged up by Ladybird while she was fighting the Stoneheart clones. She wasn’t exactly cautious of the civilians around her.”

“Well, they’re new to this.” Alya defended her new heroes. “Hopefully they’ll get better.”

“Yeah.” Lila said with a tight smile. “Maybe.”

Marinette didn’t comment further.

While she was sad and angry that Iris had turned out to be a villain, she was glad that Ladybird and Chat Noir had quickly revealed her true colours, even if she was still cautious of the two new heroes.

The three girls walked into class.

“No, wait.” Marinette said as they passed Chloe and Marinette’s empty desk.

With full confidence, she sat in Chloe’s seat.

Lila grinned and sat next to her.

Alya nodded in approval for their actions, still standing.

“Uhh…you’re in the wrong seat. Go on, get lost.” Chloe ordered once she entered class and saw her seat taken.

“‘All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing’.” Marinette quoted Alya’s quote of Majestia in response.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Chloe sneered.

“It means that I’m not going to put up with your crud anymore, Chloe. And neither is anyone else around here. So, go on, take your attitude and get lost.” Marinette challenged.

Chloe scowled as the rest of the class laughed at her, storming over to Alya and Lila’s empty seats with Sabrina.

“Good job.” Alya complimented.

She then wrinkled her nose when she realised that her seat had been taken, looking up at the available seats next to Ivan and Nathaniel.

“Oh, you can have the seat.” Marinette stood up to let Alya in.

“What? No.” Alya denied. “You just stood up to Chloe to stake your claim. You earned it.”

“I was already at the back.” Marinette said, pushing Alya into her seat. “It’s not fair for you to be pushed to the back just because I stood up to Chloe.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Alya said. “Thank you.”

“I would volunteer to go to the back myself, but my eyesight wouldn’t allow it.” Lila inserted herself into the conversation.

“It’s fine.” Marinette said.

She then walked up the steps and sat next to Nathaniel.

“You know, despite the Iris thing, I think this is going to be a better year.” She told the artist, who hummed in agreement.

* * *

Marinette would come to regret tempting fate in such a way.

Everything was fine, at first.

Marinette had her friends in Alya and Lila, with being on friendlier terms with the rest of her classmates as well. And while they got off to a bad start, Marinette managed to look past Adrien’s friendship with Chloe and become sort of friends as well, though Chloe was still there to make sure they could never become proper friends by interrupting them constantly, hostile to any female around Adrien.

And though normal life was interrupted by Akuma attacks, some of which Marinette ended up mixed up in through some form or another such as Nathaniel becoming a villain just so he could take her on a date, she’d come to trust that Ladybird and Chat Noir would protect them.

Plus, Marinette found Alya’s passion for the heroes enjoyable to watch.

But then Marinette began to notice things about Lila.

The Italian teen boasted of many things, making her life sound so interesting. And, like the rest of her classmates, Marinette didn’t question Lila’s numerous claims.

Afterall, who would claim so many things that sounded farfetched, like personally knowing Ladybird, unless they were true?

But it eventually got to a point where Marinette got suspicious.

Being a fan of Jagged Stone, Marinette knew that he was allergic to cats. So, why would he own one for Lila to rescue? And how would Lila get to close to a moving plane in the first place?  
And she was pretty sure that writing a song about an underage teen he wasn’t even related to would cause a PR nightmare for the famous singer.

And then there was the numerous injuries Lila claimed.

The tetanus that Marinette was pretty sure switched ears. The sprained wrist that came and went, conveniently causing pain in class so that Alya had to take notes for Lila. And for someone near-sighted, Lila had not once worn glasses.

The truth became clearer to Marinette the more she actually paid attention to all of Lila’s claims.

Lila was a liar, and a compulsive one at that.

So, Marinette decided to confront her friend about her lies.

…

“Lila, can I talk to you, alone?” Marinette approached her friend.

Lila looked over from where she was talking to Adrien, a flash on annoyance gracing her face.

“Oh, maybe later.” Lila said. “Adrien and I are a bit busy here.”

She grabbed onto his arm as if to emphasise her point.

Adrien forced a smile as he gently tried to detach Lila from his arm.

“Actually, as I’m trying to tell you, Lila.” He denied. “My father wants me home for lunch, since I have piano practice.”

Once free, Adrien sped-walked away, making Lila frown.

“So,” Lila sighed. “What did you want to talk about?”

Marinette led her friend to a secluded place in the college, where they could talk privately.

“Lila, please tell me the truth.” Marinette started as gently as she could. “Have you been lying to us?”

Lila stood straighter in shock before quickly adopting a hurt expression.

“Lying? Lying about what?” She questioned.

“Everything, really.” Marinette said, deciding to be straight forward. “I’ve noticed you’ve been faking injuries, and your stories about the celebrities you say you know just don’t line up.”

“Listen, I know that what I say sounds crazy, but it really happened.” Lila tried to defend herself. “And I’m really active and get injured a lot, that’s”-

“Lila!”

Lila jumped at Marinette’s harsh interruption.

Marinette’s face fell at how she’d interrupted her friend, but she needed Lila to listen.

“Please, don’t lie.” Marinette said quietly. “I’ve already done all the fact checking.”

“I only tell people what they want to hear.” Lila switched demeanours so fast it was near whiplash inducing.

“It’s lying.” Marinette frowned. “And it’s lying that hurts people. How many people have you promised that you’ll ‘put a word in for’ to famous people? How many of those promises are you going to break?”

“You’re over-exaggerating.” Lila dismissed. “Even if I wasn’t lying, they should know better than to expect anything to come of it.”

Marinette frowned even heavier, understanding that she was seeing the true Lila, not the one fabricated by her lies.

“Well, I’m not going to let you get away with lying like that, it’s wrong.” Marinette challenged. “So, please stop with the lies, so that I don’t have to tell everyone the truth. I don’t want you to lose friends.”

Lila laughed, sounding very much like Chloe.

“Please, the only one who would lose friends is you.” She sneered.

She walked towards Marinette menacingly, causing the other girl to back up until she hit the wall.

“I’ll make sure that nobody will believe you. Afterall, as far as everyone else is concerned, you’re just a wannabe fashion designer while I know all the celebrities, and much more people like me because I tell them everything they want to hear, you’d just be trying to tear me down for your own grab at fame. If you try anything, I will bury you, leaving you even more friendless than before.” Lila threatened.

She then grinned walking to the door.

“You’re either with me or against me.” Lila said. “You’re a smart girl, figure out the right choice.”

With those parting words, Lila left Marinette alone.

Marinette shook, tears coming to her eyes.

Lila had to be wrong.

Her friends wouldn’t believe the liar over her.

But Lila was their friend too.

And everyone viewed Lila as this important person who knew famous people and did charity work, while Marinette was just a normal teen wanting to be a fashion designer.

Marinette put a hand to her chest at how much she hurt.

Even if she did get Alya and the others to believe, that didn’t change that someone she thought of to be a close friend just threatened her without a second thought all because she was called out on her lies.

Marinette sobbed, running out of the room, wanting to be anywhere but the place she had been threatened by her former friend, quickly running out of the school as well.

So lost in her pain and sadness, Marinette didn’t look where she was going and knocked straight into someone.

“Oh, sorry.” Marinette sniffed as she lifted herself off the ground.

“It’s fine.” A soothing voice answered. “Are you alright.”

A hand helped steady Marinette as she got to her feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Marinette lied to the stranger.

The stranger hummed. “Do you want to maybe try that again?”

Marinette looked at the stranger, being met by blue eyes.

“Oh.” Marinette said as she took in how attractive the boy was too her.

“Here.” The boy offered Marinette a tissue.

“Thank you.” Marinette said weakly, drying her eyes.

“It’s the least I could do.” The boy said. “I’m Luka Couffaine, by the way.”

“Wait, does that mean that you’re Juleka’s brother?” Marinette asked, recognising the last name.

“I am. Are you one of Juleka’s classmates then?” The boy said.

“Yeah. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Marinette introduced herself.

“That’s a nice name, it suits you.” Luka smiled.

“I-um-uh, tank you, I mean, thank you.” Marinette said, getting tongue tied.

“So, now that we know each other, do you want to tell me why you were upset?” Luka asked as he led them to a nearby bench.

“It’s nothing.” Marinette tried to wave off.

“It can’t be nothing if you were crying like that.” Luka pointed out gently.

“Just someone who I thought was a friend.” Marinette admitted.

“And they hurt you?” Luka asked to clarify.

Marinette nodded.

“I tried to get them to stop lying and they threatened me instead.” She explained.

“That’s horrible.” Luka sympathised. “You need to tell someone.”

“I know, but they threatened to turn everyone against me. And, I don’t want to get them in trouble, they were still my friend.” Marinette said.

“They don’t sound worthy of being your friend if they would threaten you.” Luka told Marinette. “So, you need to be brave and tell an adult.”

“I suppose.” Marinette said.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Luka asked, taking out his phone and doing something with it for a moment.

“I only live over there.” Marinette gave a small laugh as she pointed at the bakery.

“Then I can walk you over there.” Luka smiled.

Marinette smiled back slightly.

The older boy walked Marinette to the door to her home.

“Here.” Luka said as he took out a piece of paper and wrote a number on it. “You can call me if you ever need someone to talk to again.”

“I…thank you.” Marinette said, taking the number.

“Hopefully, our next meeting can be happier.” Luka said, waving as he left.

Marinette watched him go, sighing.

Then she thought of what happened before and her smile dropped, walking inside.

Marinette walked past her parents working in the bakery as she went upstairs.

Perhaps she would talk to her parents about what happened later. But for now, she didn’t want to bother them with what happened.

* * *

Marinette found herself messaging Luka the next day, the two agreeing to meet up and just hang out with each other.

Marinette found the older boy’s presence very calming, even if she was developing a bad habit of becoming tongue-tied around him.

It was in their second meeting that Luka admitted he’d seen an Akuma coming after her and had helped calm her down so that it would leave her alone, before notifying the Ladyblog about spotting the Akuma. Though, the older boy maintained that he would have helped Marinette, even without the Akuma threatening her.

It scared Marinette to think of how close she had been to being Akumatised, leaving her grateful to Luka for being there for her.

To thank him, Marinette made a small charm for her new friend, which Luka proudly attached to his guitar case.

“Now I can have your support everywhere I play.” Luka had said, causing Marinette to flush red.

Marinette was glad for her friendship with Luka, even though it was relatively new. He was someone there for here, someone supportive that she could talk to about issues that she couldn’t talk to others about. Issues like Lila.

…

Marinette wisely decided to not openly challenge Lila on her lies, knowing that it’d only make her look bad, but that didn’t stop her from trying to get her classmates to think.

When Lila made claims, Marinette would ask questions in hopes that the others would pick up on that Lila’s statements made no sense. And deliberately do things that would make Lila contradict herself, in hopes that the others would notice the contradiction.

And for that, Lila declared a secret war against Marinette.

Many times, Lila would say that Marinette was too busy when Marinette wasn’t there to speak for herself, offer back-handed compliments meant to make Marinette feel horrible while coming off as kind to others, or play pranks that Marinette’s friends were more willing to believe were the cause of Chloe than Lila. And any attempts to bring up Lila behaviour with her friends was waved off as Marinette misunderstanding Lila’s intentions.

And, of course, Marinette still had to deal with Chloe on top of Lila.

But while Marinette had Alya and the rest of her classmate’s support when it came to dealing with Chloe, because no one liked Chloe or believed a thing she said, Marinette had no one to help with Lila’s bullying because everyone loved Lila and wouldn’t believe she could do anything wrong.

Well, no one but Luka. Who didn’t know who Lila was, so fully believed her when she vented about what Lila had done and didn’t try to call her jealous or say she was misunderstanding the situation.

Sometimes, Marinette found it better to just hang out with Luka, than hang out with Alya and try to not exhaust herself putting up with Lila when she tagged along.

…

“Why are you even friends with me?” Marinette decided to ask Luka one day, when her insecurities got the best of her. “Not that I think we shouldn’t be friends. You’re perfect, I mean amazing. Who wouldn’t want to be friend with you? No one.” She then got tongue-tied trying to clarify herself to the boy.

Luka laughed at Marinette’s fumbling.

“I like you because you’re you.” He answered.

“What does that mean?” Marinette questioned.

Luka picked up his guitar and played a riff.

“You’re quite like this.” He explained. “Very strong, passionate.”

He played again.

“When I’m with you, I have so many ideas, and want to harmonize with how you are.” Luka said.

Marinette blushed at his sweet words.

“And I’m sure that your melody will evolve into a powerful song.” Luka finished.

Marinette chose to bury her face in a pillow, causing Luka to laugh.

* * *

Though inadvertently, it turned out to be Chloe that gave Marinette the tools she needed to work passed the treatment she was given at the hands of both Chloe and Lila.

By making Marinette a gofer during the work experience at her father’s hotel, she was able to show off her creative work to the Rockstar Jagged Stone when he asked for some sunglasses that couldn’t be found in shops, so she made herself instead. Sunglasses that the celebrity loved and then went on to wear at a concert.

It had been such a fulfilling feeling, to have her work validated by one of her favourite musicians.

Then, things got even better when Jagged Stone himself asked for Marinette to design him an album cover for his latest set of songs. And despite the man’s manager try to twist things his way, Jagged Stone loved Marinette’s second design so much that he hinted at working with her again in the future.

When Lila next attempted her usual behaviour, Marinette found herself just laughing it off.

Because while Lila could lie about knowing Jagged Stone, Marinette was actually the one to do creative work for him and get compliments for it.

…

Through her work for Jagged Stone, Marinette sort of refound her passion for creativity.

It had never actually gone away, as Marinette was always working on her clothing, jewellery or some other form of art. But she jumped into it with a new appreciation and determination.

Chloe’s actions and Lila’s comments stung far less when Marinette was able to look at the size of her portfolio and online shop with pride, knowing that she was able to accomplish far more than the both of them combined.

When Lila sabotaged Marinette’s plans with Alya or their other friends in some way, or Marinette just didn’t feel like being around Lila to hang with the rest of her friends, Marinette just took herself to the art club instead.

With the other art club members in the background and sometimes able to provide feedback, Marinette worked on filling up the stock of her online shop, creating commissions and entering her work into the occasional contest.

The art club provided its own sense of a community, with everyone displaying their own forms of creativity and giving each other feedback.

Alix would do graffiti, Rose and Juleka worked on music, Nathaniel and Marc would work on their comics, and Marinette herself would do her fashion work. The only real outlier was Casey, who preferred to sequester herself in the corner, headphones almost always in to block out everyone else, attempts at communication usually unsuccessful.

Though, Marinette had noticed that Nathaniel was managing to communicate with Casey lately, the shy redhead managing to come out of his own shell gradually, seemingly thanks to his work with Marc. So, she was happy for them.

* * *

When Marinette submitted her portfolio to Gabriel Agreste, it had been an impulsive decision and she hadn’t really expected to hear anything back.

So, it was a big shock when Marinette received an apprenticeship offer from the notoriously reclusive fashion designer.

Marinette almost hadn’t replied, thinking that it had to be a ploy by Lila to make her look stupid after Alya blabbed about Marinette submitting her portfolio.

But it was real and Marinette ended up apprenticing under the fashion designer, shadowing the man as he worked, completing work given to her by him, and doing other errands. A lot of it was menial work, but Marinette understood that it was needed experience, and it would help her gain a better position when she made fashion her career.

Marinette was happy to show off what skills she had to Mr Agreste. Though, one skill she hadn’t thought she’d need to show off was the basic fighting skills taught to her by her mother, which happened when she was apprenticing on a day that an Akumatised villain broke into the Agreste mansion with his army of mind controlled minions to target the fashion designer. The villain and his minions still managed to take Mr Agreste in the end though, since Marinette was still an unpowered teenager.

Marinette’s apprenticeship still continued on for a while after that incident, Marinette even getting to help out with Mr Agreste’s fashion show, which a bowler hat she made also got to feature in, much to Marinette’s delight, worn by her sort-of friend Adrien.

Then Style Queen happened and Adrien got turned into a glitter statue before her eyes.

Marinette herself had barely managed to escape being turned.

And after the attack, Audrey Bourgeois had offered her own apprenticeship to Marinette, which would have taken the teen out of the country and away from her friends and family.

Honestly, the main reason that Marinette had turned down the offer in the end was because Audrey was too much like her daughter, Chloe. And Marinette didn’t have faith that she wouldn’t be “fired” halfway through the apprenticeship on a whim from the woman.

So, Marinette would continue with her apprenticeship with Gabriel Agreste, with not even a break after his son had been turned into a glitter statue, as he had summoned her to his office the very next day.

…

“Mr Agreste?” Marinette knocked on the office door after being let into the Agreste mansion. “You wanted to see me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment
> 
> No points for guessing who the villain is.  
> So, check Iris, both Butterfly and Fox fusion, on my DeviantART and Tumblr:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/dreamvixen2511/art/Iris-rough-draft-847582313  
> https://asexual-individual.tumblr.com/image/622663750627033088
> 
> The umbrella scene never happened in this story due to the changes, so Marinette doesn’t gain her instant crush and possessiveness over Adrien. With no jealousy to form a bias with, and because Lila is now a part of the class from the beginning, Marinette falls for Lila’s lies just like everyone else, though does have the brains to eventually figure out the truth.  
> I know that some people don’t like Luka and feel that he’s a nothing character (which I have to agree on at points), but I’ll try to give him a clear character and reason to be in the story, which I’ve already done by him being the support for Marinette over Lila.


	3. Passing of the Torch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette gains an upgrade in her apprenticship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am pleasantly surprised to find myself posting these first few chapters so quickly, but I know that my speed will not last, especially once I have to go back to the final year of my costume course.

“Mr Agreste?” Marinette knocked on the office door after being let into the Agreste mansion. “You wanted to see me?”

The door was opened by the man, who stepped back to let Marinette in.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, please come in.” Gabriel told her. “Have a seat.”

Doing as told, Marinette sat in the seat in front of Gabriel’s desk while the man took his usual place.

Marinette shifted uncomfortably in her chair, feeling as if something was off with today’s apprenticeship meeting.

“Tell me, Miss Dupain-Cheng. What do you think of Ladybird and Chat Noir?”

Marinette blinked as she looked at Mr Agreste in surprise, caught off guard by the question about Paris’ resident heroes.

“Uh, I think they’re really brave and do their best to protect Paris, even if it is from my classmates.” Marinette answered, deciding that it was the safest answer.

“Don’t you think we’ve had a bit too many close calls lately?” Gabriel asked.

Marinette bit her lip.

No doubt Mr Agreste was alluding to the previous day’s events, and how Adrien was almost turned to glitter with seemingly only Ladybird to take down Style Queen.

“I guess that there have been.” Marinette agreed. “But Ladybird and Chat Noir are trying their best, and they always have allies to call on if things get difficult.

“ _A_ ally.” Gabriel corrected.

Marinette blinked in surprise again, she hadn’t expected Mr Agreste to be one of the people subscribing to Alya’s theory that all the temp’ heroes were the same person. Though, Marinette herself was also one of the people who believed Alya’s theory.

“Yeah.” Marinette said. “But they’ve always been able to win in the end.”

“Maybe they will, or maybe there will come a time where they will be too late.” Gabriel said. “There may come a day where Ladybird will not be able to retrieve her ally, or that their ally will simply be not enough. What then?”

Marinette frowned slightly, not understanding why Mr Agreste was asking her such questions.

“I honestly don’t know, sir.” Marinette answered. “But I’m sure that something will happen to stop Iris and her Akumas. I think that the heroes just need a little more help, another ally, maybe.”

Gabriel showed no visible reaction to Marinette’s response.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, are you aware of other heroes existing before Ladybird and Chat Noir?” He asked his student.

Marinette startled at the sudden shift in conversation.

“Sort of. Before Ladybird and Chat Noir I didn’t really think about them. I’ve heard rumours online but didn’t think they were true.” Marinette answered.

“I assure you, some of them are more than rumours”

Gabriel took out a clipping from an old newspaper and handed it to Marinette.

‘Quantic Team Saves the Day Again!’ Screamed the headline.

The picture to go along with the article was slightly blurred but Marinette could make out a group of young men and women dressed in costumes battling something out of the picture, they were obviously superheroes from the costumes and powers they were displaying. The article went on about how the heroes saved the day and the damages done by the opponent they were facing.

“The Quantic Team? That name seems familiar.” Marinette mumbled.

“The Quantic team had their beginnings here in France many years ago with just a few members, but as the years went by they travelled the world and brought on new members in their quest to end to end an evil different from Iris and her Akumas.” Gabriel told her.

“Then, why aren’t they here now to help stop Iris now?” Marinette asked.

If they heroes in the picture were there to help, Ladybird and Chat Noir possibly could have won by now.

“With the evil they fought against defeated most of us decided to retire and give up our powers or lost them completely.” Gabriel explained further.

Those retired heroes aware of Iris likely believed that they could just leave her to the new guard to handle, especially with Ladybird’s ability to undo all damage.

Marinette nodded in understanding, then fully computed the phrasing of Mr Agreste’s words.

“Wait, you said ‘us’ and ‘our’. You were a superhero?” Marinette gasped.

Gabriel simply nodded and handed over a photo.

In the image, a group of costumed heroes posed for the camera. The entire group of heroes looked beaten and worn, with torn costumes and some even having make-shift splints and slings. But despite their injuries, they all looked like they couldn’t be happier, grinning at the camera and some of them either doing peace signs or thumbs-up.

“Sir.” Marinette finally said after a few minutes to process what she had been told. “I don’t get why you’re telling me all of this.”

“Because,” Gabriel said as he retrieved a small jewellery box from the inside of his desk. “Ladybird and Chat Noir need help. Iris is becoming too much for just them to handle.”

Marinette quickly picked up that by ‘help’, Mr Agreste meant her.

“But, Ladybird and Chat Noir already have their allies. I don’t know them personally, my friend Alya is closer to them. So why would they pick me?” Marinette questioned.

“Ladybird and Chat Noir have only one ally, as I have already said.” Gabriel pointed out. “No matter his form, it is always the same person underneath, just one person that Ladybird trusts enough to be an ally. Which could end in disastrous consequences when more than one ally is needed.”

“I suppose.” Marinette agreed. “But still, why would Ladybird choose me?”

“She’s not.” Gabriel said. “I am.”

Opening the box, Gabriel placed it in front of Marinette.

Marinette stared down at the contents of the box, a Peacock-shaped broach.

She then stared back at the photo she’d been given, keen eyes picking out a man wearing that very same broach, his costume clearly themed after that of a Peacock.

Given that Mr Agreste had just handed her the broach, it was clear that the man in the picture had to be her mentor, even though Marinette struggled to connect the stern and emotionless man to the flashily dressed one in the photo.

Then, Gabriel’s words clicked in Marinette’s mind.

Mr Agreste was a former superhero.

Mr Agreste said that he had chosen her.

Mr Agreste had just put the broach he’d worn as a hero, a piece of jewellery like the heroes and villain of Paris wore, in front of her.

“Wait. You want me to take up your powers?” Marinette gasped.

“Yes.” Gabriel answered simply.

“Why me? Why not become a hero again yourself? Do you know Ladybird and Chat Noir? Can you just give it to someone close to them-?”

Gabriel held up a hand to cease Marinette’s ramble of questions.

“No, I do not know Ladybird and Chat Noir’s identities, nor am familiar with them in any way.” Gabriel answered Marinette’s questions. “As to why I am not resuming my old mantle, I am afraid that I am permanently retired for reasons that do not concern you. But as something needs to be done to stop Iris before the heroes are overwhelmed, I require a successor, and I have chosen you.”

“But…why me?” Marinette questioned again.

“Are you aware that, other than my son and another student, you are the only student of your class who has yet to be Akumatised?” Gabriel brought up.

“Yes.” Marinette said quietly.

She was all too aware of the fact, and so were many of her classmates. The others were waiting for her, Adrien and Lila to ‘join them’ as it were, viewing the Akumatisation as an inevitability rather than a chance.

“But Adrien and _Lila_ haven’t been Akumatised yet, and neither have many of the other students at my school.” Marinette pointed out.

“That may be. But I am also aware of the unique treatment you receive from Miss Bourgeois.” Gabriel said. “Though your teachers may elect to ignore her behaviour, I know that much of her unfortunate behaviour is targeted towards you, as well as that Miss Bourgeois is responsible for the Akumatisation of many of your classmates. Yet despite this, you have yet to be Akumatised.”

“I guess.” Marinette shrugged.

Of course, there was also Lila’s treatment on top of Chloe’s, but Mr Agreste didn’t appear to be aware of that.

“And I have seen for myself your skills, both as a hard worker, and in defending yourself during the attack on my home.” Gabriel added. “I would not give my Miraculous to someone I believed unfit or unprepared.”

“But why not give it to your assistant, uh, Nathalie?” Marinette questioned. “Doesn’t she know how to fight? And she hasn’t been Akumatised either.”

“Are you aware of how old the heroes are, Miss Dupain-Cheng?” Gabriel responded with a question of his own.

“I don’t think so.” Marinette answered. “Though, Alya saw that Egyptian scroll that said Ladybird was thousands of years old.

“According to my research, they are much younger than that.” Gabriel told her. “From the way they speak, the words they use, how they act; it all points towards Ladybird and Chat Noir being somewhere in their teens, like you. Their ally is harder to judge, but it’s likely that Ladybird would chose someone in her age bracket.”

“So, you chose me over Nathalie because we’re possibly the same age?” Marinette questioned.

“Partially, yes.” Gabriel answered. “Nathalie is an adult and is…not the best at interacting with younger people. If I were to send her to help Ladybird and Chat Noir, they would likely be wary of her and talk a long time to trust her. As someone of a similar age, you will be more successful at integrating yourself into their team.”

Marinette guessed she could understand the logic, though Mr Agreste didn’t need to make it sound like he was sending her in as a mole.

“Besides that, Nathalie is too busy to act as my successor. She is important to my company and would be incapable of just dropping what she is doing to fight the villains. And though I know that you are also busy, you are also more capable of leaving during a villain attack and are closer to the epicentre of the attacks as a student.” Gabriel added.

Gabriel decided to leave out that Marinette being close to his son was also a factor in his decision.

“Okay.” Marinette said hesitantly. “I’m still not sure I’ll be a good hero. I mean, I only know the basics of defence, definitely not enough to fight Iris or her Akumas.”

“That is why I will be training you.” Gabriel said.

“Really?”

“The Miraculous may give subconscious knowledge of your weapon and how to fight, but I am not letting you fight against Iris and her Akumas until I believe that you are trained and full prepared. If you accept, that is.”

Marinette looked at the broach lying innocently on the desk in front of her, apparently holding a similar power that Ladybird and Chat Noir had, and the potential to make her a superhero.

But did she really want that? Becoming a superhero meant being constantly under fire from Iris and her Akumas, her loved ones being put in danger if her identity was discovered, hiding the truth from everyone, and sacrificing who knows how much of her real life.

But, her loved ones were already in danger from Akumas whenever they got caught in the line of fire, Alya was already constantly placing herself in dangerous situations in order to get the latest scoop on Ladybird and Chat Noir; and if Marinette became a superhero then she could protect them, she could help in a very meaningful way.

Marinette slowly reached for the broach, her hand paused halfway and pulled backward slightly in hesitance before continuing the rest of the way and picking up the broach delicately. With the same slow hesitance, she pinned the broach to her shirt.

Gabriel said nothing as an orb of blue light appeared in front of Marinette, causing her to shield her eyes. When the teen was able to look again, she was met by a pair of large dark eyes and a small blue body.

“Ah!” Marinette flinched back.

“Don’t be scared, I’m your friend.” The small creature cheered. “I’m your Kwami, Duusu.”

The blue creature then looked around the room, eyes widening when he spotted Gabriel.

“Gabe.” Duusu burst into blue, sparkling tears, flying into Gabriel’s chest.

“Hello again, Duusu.” Gabriel said.

Gabriel didn’t seem to mind the tears on his suit and cupped the Kwami to his chest with a gentleness Marinette had never seen.

Duusu then turned back to look at Marinette, who was still stunned.

“Are you really giving me to a new wielder?” The Kwami asked his former wielder.

Gabriel simply nodded, and Duusu nodded back in understanding but with a sad look on his face.

“She is also an aspiring fashion designer.” Gabriel added.

Duusu suddenly brightened, a huge grin appearing on his face as he practically teleported over to Marinette.

“Really? Let me see your designs. Are you wearing your own designs right now? You have to be, you look so nice. I can tell you are going to look fabulous when we transform.” He fired out in rapid succession.

Slightly taken aback by Duusu’s one-eighty in mood, Marinette tried her best to take the entire scenario in stride, holding out a hand for Duusu to sit on.

“Uh, thank you.” She said.

The two lapsed into silent, Gabriel himself also remaining silent as he allowed his student to acclimate to the existence of her new Kwami.

“So…” Marinette eventually spoke up. “What do I do?”

“Ooh.” Duusu trilled.

Marinette had to smile, the Kwami’s excitement contagious.

“All you need to say is, ‘Duusu, Spread My Feathers’, to unleash your powerful beauty!” Duusu spread his arms out and bounced on Marinette’s hand.

Blushing slightly at her Kwami’s words, Marinette looked to Gabriel for guidance, silently questioning whether it was okay for her to transform.

The man nodded, giving permission.

“Okay.” Marinette said, standing up. “Duusu, Spread My Feathers!”

Duusu was sucked back into the broach Marinette wore as blue energy washed over her, feeling almost like tiny feathers against Marinette’s skin.

As the transformation completed, a netted veil fell over Marinette’s eyes, obscuring the top half of her face, though Marinette herself could still see though it clear as day.

“Woah.” Marinette said, looking down to admire her new costume.

It was almost entirely blue, with the exception of some pink dots on her slit skirt, which had each section rounded to give the impression of peacock feathers.

Marinette quickly stepped over to a mirror that hung from the wall to gain a better view of her costume, noting that her hair was tied behind her head instead of her usual pigtails, and her veil came from a small hat on top of her head that sat at an angle and was decorated with peacock feathers to one side.

The teen frowned when she looked at the under-bust corset she now wore, feather-shaped fastenings down the front.

“Am I meant to fight in this?” She questioned.

She didn’t have much faith in her ability to fight if she couldn’t bend her midsection.

“Due to the magic of the Miraculous, usual costume impracticalities are…mitigated.” Gabriel explained.

Marinette’s mind drifted to the picture of her mentor’s own superhero form, realising that he would have also had some issues fighting in his costume.

Testing out her mentor’s words, Marinette quickly realised that she could bend, despite the corset clearly being stiff since no wrinkles appeared in the fabric.

Returning to admiring herself in the mirror, Marinette did a small twirl, smiling at how her segmented skirt flared out.

This allowed her to take notice of the fan attached to the back of her corset.

“I’m guessing that this is another, ‘magic changes things’ thing.” Marinette said as she took her fan and opened it out, looking at the peacock-shaped segments that were topped with frilly ends.

“Yes.” Gabriel confirmed. “You will be able to fight with your fan. Once you are fully trained.”

With her mentor’s reminder, Marinette gave herself one last look in the mirror and at how much taller she seemed, though she wasn’t wearing heels and she was sure that she hadn’t actually gained any height, before pulling away.

“Uh, so, how do I turn back?” Marinette questioned, tapping at her Miraculous.

Gabriel sighed.

If simple transformation was a hurdle, actually training his apprentice, in more than one way now, was going to be more of a hassle than he thought.

“You say ‘Fall My Feathers’.” Gabriel explained.

“Right.” Marinette said. “Fall My Feathers!”

With another feeling of being brushed by thousands of feathers, Marinette was once again in her normal clothes, Duusu appearing beside her.

“I knew it. You looked positively elegant.” Duusu trilled happily as he spun, spreading out his tail feathers. “Didn’t she, Gabe?”

Gabriel didn’t respond to the question but did give a slight nod of his head to show that he approved of Marinette’s costume design, even though the teen didn’t have an active choice in her look.

“Thank you.” Marinette smiled at the compliment.

“Like the other heroes, as well as Iris, you get a power that is unique to your Miraculous, which can then aid you in fighting.” Gabriel informed his apprentice.

“Oracle Eye.” Duusu took over explaining. “When activated, it allows you to see the immediate future.”

“Okay.” Marinette said.

It sounded like a useful power, though also confusing. Would Marinette see the future and then be able to act on it afterwards, or constantly seeing the immediate future while also juggling her actions in the present at the same time?

“So, when do I start training?” Marinette asked.

“Tomorrow.” Gabriel answered. “You may go home now, as I know things will need to settle in your mind first.”

“Yes sir.” Marinette said. “Uh…” She looked at Duusu and the broach on her chest.

“You will be keeping the Peacock Miraculous with you.” Gabriel answered Marinette’s unspoken question.

“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Marinette said, leaving the office.

Duusu slipped into Marinette’s purse as she left for home.

* * *

Once Marinette arrived home and reached her room, she opened her purse and allowed Duusu out.

“This is amazing.” Duusu said as he looked around her room. “So much prettier than Gabe’s place.”

With Duusu’s look and personality, Marinette guessed that the Kwami wasn’t one for minimalism like her mentor was.

The Kwami quickly dove for the jewellery supplies Marinette had left out on her desk from her current project, admiring the prettiness of the work.

He then quickly switched attention to the box Marinette used for her fabric scraps and offcuts, rolling around in the different textures and comparing patterns.

Marinette watched her new Kwami’s actions in amusement.

Then, Duusu caught sight of the various pictures Marinette had of her friends.

“Ooh, are these your friends?” Duusu asked.

“Yep.” Marinette said. “That’s Alya, that’s Nino, there’s my art club with Juleka, Rose, Alix, Nathaniel, Marc and Casey, this is Luka.” She began naming the people in the photos.

Duusu gained a knowing grin as he took notice of how Marinette’s voice lightened as she spoke the last boy’s name.

“Is he your boyfriend?” He asked outright.

Marinette spluttered and turned red.

“What? No. I mean, I wouldn’t be averse to it. But that doesn’t mean that he is, right now I mean. That’s not to say that he isn’t cute, because he is, but that doesn’t mean we’re dating.” Marinette vomited her words, looking around for something to make her stop as Duusu fixed her with an amused stare. “Oh, and this is Adrien.”

Marinette grabbed a group photo and pointed at the boy she had yet to introduce to distract from the subject of Luka.

Duusu looked at the photo before suddenly bursting into tears.

“Woah, what’s wrong?” Marinette asked, cupping the crying Kwami in her hands.

“He looks so much like her.” Duusu sobbed.

Marinette looked at the picture, trying to connect the dots on why her Kwami was so upset, realising that it likely had something to do with Adrien’s absent mother.

“Um, how about some food to cheer you up? What do you like to eat?” Marinette suggested.

“Ooh, grapes, please.” Duusu suddenly snapped out of his crying.

Marinette sighed, knowing that Duusu would probably have mood swings like this all the time. Still, she went downstairs and came back up with some grapes, setting them down for Duusu to happily dig into.

“So, what’s been going on since I was asleep?” Duusu asked before eating another grape.

Marinette gave a quick overview of the situation to her Kwami, explaining Iris, Ladybird and Chat Noir, the villain’s seeming lack of motivation beyond defeating the heroes, Iris gaining another power, and the multi-hero ally that sometimes showed up to help save the day. Using Alya’s Ladyblog to help add some visuals.

“Oh no. Poor Nooroo and Trixx, being used like that.” Duusu shook his head sadly, dropping the grape he had been holding.

“Who are Nooroo and Trixx?” Marinette asked.

“They are the Kwamis of the Miraculous this Iris hold, Nooroo for the Butterfly Miraculous and Trixx for the Fox Miraculous.” Duusu explained. “Over the many millennia the Miraculous have existed we have mostly been used for good, but there have been times where we haven’t, and it is never nice.”

“Well, I promise to use this for good.” Marinette said, tapping the Miraculous on her shirt.

“I know. Gabe wouldn’t have chosen you otherwise.” Duusu smiled.

The Kwami then frowned again.

“Though, something confuses me. How did Iris get her hands on both the Butterfly _and_ the Fox Miraculous.” Duusu questioned.

“What do you mean?” Marinette asked.

“Uh, well.” Duusu tried to figure out what to explain. “I belong to a group of Miraculous, watched over by a Guardain. And many years ago, two of my group was lost during a catastrophe.”

“The Butterfly and Fox?”

Duusu shook his head. “The Butterfly was one of the ones lost, and the Bee was the other. The Fox remained with my group and our Guardian. So, it doesn’t make sense that Iris would have one lost Miraculous, and another that shouldn’t be lost.”

“Do…do you think Iris attacked this Guardian person?” Marinette wondered, startled by her own theorising. “Wait, if Iris stole the Fox, would that mean she has the other Miraculous too? How many are there in your group.”

“No, I don’t think Iris found the Guardian.” Duusu was remarkably calm, and even serious, as he talked. “If that was the case, then Ladybird, Chat Noir and their teammate wouldn’t be around. Besides, last I checked, Trixx and his Miraculous weren’t with the Guardian.”

“Really?”

“Well, I’ve been with Gabriel for a while, instead of being returned to the Guardian. Though, I should have been returned to the Guardian when not in use, I need to bring that up with Gabriel tomorrow. Similarly, Trixx’s wielder never returned the Fox Miraculous to the Guardian, as far as I’m aware, and I find it hard to believe that she did it during the time I was sleeping.”

“So, Iris stole the Fox Miraculous from them instead?”

“It would seem so.” Duusu said. “Though, I still find it unlikely. Since Sion isn’t the type to easily steal from. I’ll have to ask Gabe if he knows anything about her tomorrow as well.”

“Well, no matter how Trixx ended up with Iris, I’m sure the heroes will save both him and Nooroo.” Marinette assured her Kwami. “And once Mr Agreste has trained me, I’ll be joining the fight too.”

“Yay.” Duusu cheered. “And we’ll look absolutely fabulous doing it. You’ll have to be careful not to outshine the others with your outfit, since you clearly have the best of the bunch.”

“You’re comparing our outfits.” Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“Of course.” Duusu said. “Your look is your first impression after all.

Duusu opened the Ladyblog to a picture of the heroes and Iris.

“Starting with Iris.” Duusu directed Marinette’s attention to a picture of Iris from when she first appeared. “Her first costume is alright, and her wing cape is a nice touch, but it’s also trying too hard to seem like an anime magical girl with the skirt and bow in her hair.”

Marinette pulled a face and looked at her Kwami, weirded out that the magical being knew that Anime existed.

She also didn’t see Duusu’s criticism in Iris’ original costume.

“And Iris’ second costume.” Duusu’s face morphed into disgust. “It just clashes so horribly. Purple and orange are not a good colour combination, and all the orange is focused too heavily in the body.”

Marinette definitely did see Duusu’s criticism here. When she’d first seen Iris’s new form, how much of an eyesore it was had caught her attention.

Duusu then turned his attention of the heroes.

“Chat Noir is minimalistic, and the tail belt is stylish. But there’s just not enough detail to his costume. From a distance, his costume is just a black bodysuit. Nothing to stand out with.” Duusu judged.

Marinette frowned, since she liked Chat Noir’s suit. Though she could see the Kwami’s point about the lack of detail.

“I like Ladybird’s cape, it makes her seem dignified.” Duusu moved onto the heroine. “And she has a good ratio of red to black. It is a costume that will grow with her, which is more than I can say for Chat Noir. Still, I feel as if more could be done for her, as I feel like the bright red is the only reason she’d stand out in a crowd of heroes.”

For this criticism, Marinette felt as though Duusu was just trying to make up faults so that he could say Marinette’s costume was better.

Marinette decided to put a stop to Duusu’s critical rampage before he could move onto Ladon, Phoenix and Krait’s costumes.

“Okay, I get it.” Marinette placed a finger over the Kwami’s mouth.

“Sorry.” Duusu laughed. “I can get carried away.”

“I saw.” Marinette said.

She was glad that her transformation seemed to take her background in fashion design into account, or she could have possibly ended up in nothing but a blue bodysuit with some peacock feather designs, which would not have made Duusu happy.

“So, what was the date when you went to sleep?” Marinette changed the subject as she sat down at her computer. “We should get you caught up on everything.”

Acclimating her Kwami seemed like a good start for Marinette.

She could worry about her training to become a hero later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment  
> No damaged Peacock in this story, so don’t expect Marinette to get sick.
> 
> I’ve also changed the powers of the Peacock, partially to stick with the Foresight powers I had given it in my original story back when the powers were unknown, and partially because I think that Marinette being able to summon Senti-Monsters wouldn’t fit into the story as much; Iris having to hunt down the Sentimonster’s item would just be too much hassle for the villain to do.
> 
> As shown, in this version of events, it was the Bee that got lost alongside the Butterfly, instead of the Peacock. Fu handed out the Peacock and Fox at some point in the past and both Gabriel and Sion decided to keep them rather than hand them back once the fighting was done. Then, for reasons that have yet to be shown, the Fox Miraculous ended up with the grimoire in a collection, which was then stolen with Iris ending up with the Fox Miraculous.  
> (This explanation originally wasn’t meant to occur until Chapter 13, according to my plan, but I realised that it would be too long a wait.)
> 
> Visit my DeviantART at DreamVixen2511 or my Tumblr at Asexual Individual for a rough draft of Marinette’s Peacock costume:  
> https://www.deviantart.com/dreamvixen2511/art/Paonne-rework-rough-draft-847868091  
> https://asexual-individual.tumblr.com/image/622913891066888192


	4. Kleos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A switch to Nathaniel's perspective

“I wonder just how many there are.” Nathaniel muttered to himself as he sketched out some rough body shapes in his sketchbook. “I’ve been a Dragon, a Rooster and a Snake, and I think she mentioned there being more. If I create a design beforehand, will I be able to control what my next costume looks like.”

Nathaniel filled out three of the body shapes with rough sketches of Ladon, Phoenix and Krait, working his bottom lip with his teeth as he worked.

It wasn’t like he didn’t like the costumes, but he probably wouldn’t have designed them like that if he’d had a choice.

Then again, Marinette was the fashion designer while he was just a comic artist, so his designs might not have translated well into real life like some live-action superhero adaptations.

Nathaniel picked up his phone, already open to the Ladyblog’s discussions page, opening up one of the threads about the temporary heroes. This specific one being theorising for possible future heroes.

The thread was mostly dominated by discussions about Ladon, Phoenix and Krait being the same hero, and whether future heroes would still be him underneath the costume. Though, there were still people theorising possible animals, since all heroes and villains so far had been animal themed.

One comment in particular caught Nathaniel’s eye.

_‘Something that has caught me as odd is Phoenix, as in the animal he’s themed after. It’s easy for a lot of people to not realise, but unlike his hero name suggests, he’s not themed after the mythological animal, he’s a Rooster. You can vaguely hear Ladybird mention it in the recording of Phoenix’s fight.  
And a Rooster is such an odd animal to be themed after. Unless you look at the Chinese Zodiac that is, which the dragon and snake are also a part of by the way.  
So, I wonder if the hero Ladybird keeps bringing in has the power of the Chinese Zodiac behind him.’_

There were both people siding with an arguing against the comment in the following replies.

Some said that it made sense so far. Others argued that the ladybug was also an odd animal to be themed after, and the both the ladybug and the cat weren’t in the Chinese Zodiac.

There were further disputes and discussions after that, but Nathaniel decided that he wasn’t interested in reading them anymore.

“The Chinese Zodiac.” The artist mused.

With only three Miraculous so far, it could just be a coincidence. But it was also a possibility, especially considering the Rooster wasn’t really an animal-theme used all that often for heroes outside of the Chinese Zodiac.

Nathaniel began to fill out the other blank bodies in his sketchbook with basic designs themed after the other animals of the Zodiac, not coming up with any serious designs just yet.

“I’ll have to ask next time she comes to me.” Nathaniel mused to himself. “Then maybe I could just name myself Zodiac. Nah, that’s not a good hero name, at least not for me.”

As Nathaniel sketched, he accidently knocked another once of his pencils, sending it rolling to the floor.

“Ah.” Nathaniel noticed and reached for his falling pencil, not wanting the lead inside to possibly snap on contact with the ground.

Thankfully, the pencil was caught by someone else before it could have its unfortunate meeting with the ground.

The pencil was then offered back to Nathaniel.

“Thanks, Casey.” Nathaniel thanked the older girl.

Perpetually lidded eyes looked over to Nathaniel’s work as he took back his pencil.

“What’re you drawing.” Casey asked in slight interest.

“Well, ah…” Nathaniel suddenly realised that he’d been drawing his current and possible future hero forms out in the open for anyone to see and possibly figure out the truth. “It’s just some rough doodles, not really much meaning. You know? Workshopping ideas for my next comic.” He made up his excuse.

Casey looked at the doodles again with a raised eyebrow, causing Nathaniel to panic slightly, before she shrugged and went back to reading the book she held in her hand.

Nathaniel sighed in relief as he went back to his sketches.

He was lucky that it was Casey who’d seen his sketches, considering the girl isolated herself even more than he did before the start of the school year. The older teen spending most of her time with her nose buried in a book, sometimes accompanied with headphones, or occasionally working on her own art to warrant being in the art room to begin with.

Nathaniel had asked why Casey didn’t just spend her time in the library instead. Apparently, it was because the library didn’t allow her to eat her lunch as she read.

Casey was the type to just ignore everything around her and get lost in her own world, despite attempts by the other art club members to include her. Though, she did seem to be speaking to Nathaniel more lately.

“Hi, everyone.”

Nathaniel looked up as Marinette walked into the room.

Everyone gave their own greetings in return.

Casey even looked up from her book to offer a monotone “Hey.”

“You’ve made progress.” Nathaniel joked to Casey. “You actually said hi back when someone enters the room.”

Casey didn’t look away from her book as her hand shot out and gave Nathaniel a light whack on the arm.

“Ah.” Nathaniel complained as he rubbed his arm, pouting.

Marinette walked over to Nathaniel.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“Yeah, Casey just doesn’t care to control how hard she hits.” Nathaniel directed his comment towards said girl, who completely ignored him.

Marinette then took notice of Nathaniel’s drawings.

“These look good.” She complimented.

“Well, they’re just rough sketches for a possible future comic.” Nathaniel used the same excuse he used for Casey. “I don’t even know if I’ll end up using them.”

“Well, I’d love to see them fully conceptualised. They already look good as just sketches.” Marinette said.

“Thanks.” Nathaniel said, blushing slightly.

Marinette then looked at the empty seat next to Nathaniel.

“Where’s Marc?” She asked.

“Off sick.” Nathaniel gave his comic partner’s location.

“I’ll have to make some comfort food for them and we can take it to them later.” Marinette suggested.

“Yeah.” Nathaniel said. “So, how’s your apprenticeship going?”

“Great.” Marinette grinned. “I’ve been learning a lot.” Her hand then drifted to her chest. “Mr Agreste has actually moved me onto some new training.”

The teen didn’t go into any further detail.

“Anyway.” Marinette said. “You know a lot about heroes, right?”

“Yeah.” Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.

He sort of had to with his profession.

“What do you know about real heroes?” Marinette asked next. “I mean, outside of Ladybird, Chat Noir and their ally.”

“Well, I know a few heroes, and some more in-depth stuff. But it’s generally hard to find information on most heroes, since the information gets redacted from the media from some reason or another. So, most people only know of the current, high profile heroes.” Nathaniel revealed.

“Many heroes have had themselves removed from the media, to help protect themselves and their families.” Casey spoke up, looking up from her book. “While others get forcibly removed to force protection onto them, or because of ‘unsavoury behaviour’.”

“But a few still can be found with a quick search.” Nathaniel reiterated. “You’ll have heard of Majestia from Alya, and there’s also Nightowl and Sparrow, as well as some of their other teammates, in America. There was the Quantic Team from here, in Paris. You just need to look.”

“See if you can find anything on the Queen’s Legion from the United Kingdom. They were around a decade back.” Casey suggested.

“Okay, great. Thanks.” Marinette said, writing the names and suggestions down.

“Why the sudden interest?” Nathaniel asked.

“Oh, no reason.” Marinette waved off. “I just thought I might look into superhero fashion, that’s all.”

Marinette then left to go to another corner of the art room to set up her own area.

Nathaniel went to continue his sketches, only to notice Casey eying him over her book.

“What?” He questioned.

“Is it just me, or does Marinette look very similar to that ‘La Couturière’ character of yours?” Casey said pointedly.

“What? N-how do you even know about that character?” Nathaniel spluttered.

He had never shown off that particular character to anyone, not even Marc.

“You should be careful where you leave that sketchbook of yours open, otherwise Marinette might be the one to find it next.” Casey teased.

At least, Nathaniel guessed she was teasing. It was hard to judge with how Casey spoke sometimes.

“Don’t go through my sketchbook.” Nathaniel quickly went on the defensive. “And I don’t have feelings for Marinette, if that’s what you’re thinking. Well, okay, I did have feelings for Marinette, but I don’t anymore, she’s just a friend now. And just because I based one of my characters on Marinette doesn’t mean I still have feelings for her, it’s not a crime to base characters off your friends. Besides, that character is old, from when I did have feelings for Marinette, which I don’t anymore, to repeat-”

Nathaniel cut off his rant when he noticed that Casey had gone back to reading her book at some point.

“Have you even been listening to me?” He questioned.

“Nope.” Casey said bluntly, not looking away from her book.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes at her dismissive behaviour.

“Some friend you are.” He muttered.

“Uh-huh.” Casey hummed.

Rose piped up from where she was working on song lyrics with Juleka.

“Oh. Lila just sent me a message saying that she won’t be making afternoon classes today. Something came up with the charity she’s helping out at and they urgently needed her help.” Rose reported.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes again, catching Marinette doing the same from her own workstation.

Like all his other classmates, he had initially been taken in by Lila’s many claims of knowing celebrities and doing important work.

Then the apathy set in, so many claims falling out of Lila’s mouth that Nathaniel just couldn’t find it in himself to care anymore, like the rest of his classmates still did.

And with the apathy, came the realisation that Lila almost never gave proof for her claims, and that she was most likely lying or stretching the truth at the very least. But since Nathaniel didn’t interact with his classmates all that often, and Lila’s lies never affected him, he didn’t care to call her out.

Though, since he was closer with Marinette, he was starting to notice that Lila liked to say stuff about her far more than the other students.

…

Simultaneously, the phones of every student in the art room went off with a familiar ringtone.

“Just when I was thinking that we’d be able to go a day without an attack.” Alix said as everyone checked their phones.

Iris had struck again, this time with an Akuma themed after plants.

“I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for there to be a plant-themed villain.” Nathaniel commented to himself.

“Looks like this is going to be a city-wide thing, with how far all those plants are spreading.” Marinette said.

“In that case, I’m going to go home.” Alix said.

“Do you think that the Seine will be safer?” Juleka questioned quietly. “I mean, would the plants grow through the water.”

“Maybe.” Rose said, unknowing.

“I guess it depends on exactly how far the plants will grow.” Marinette said.

“Well, I’m going home anyway.” Juleka said.

“I’ll join you.” Rose said. “Marinette?”

“We may as well stick together.” Marinette nodded. “Nathaniel?”

“I, uh, would.” Nathaniel said. “But I want to check on my grandma, I don’t want her to be in danger.”

“Okay.” Marinette accepted. “Casey- and she’s already gone.”

The bookworm had disappeared at some point after the alert had sounded.

“Okay, let’s go.” Marinette said. “Before the plants get in our way.”

The girls all left, either for the Couffaine houseboat, or home in Alix’s case.

Nathaniel’s moved as if to also leave the room, only to step back into the art room once he was sure the girls wouldn’t notice.

“I really hope that this doesn’t bite me in the ass.” Nathaniel muttered to himself.

It would be wiser to stay with his friends, but the art room was the place Ladybird would be most guaranteed to find him.

So Nathaniel watched from the window of the art room as plants began enveloping everything outside, trees growing taller, foliage cracking their way through the concrete and greenery covering the buildings, until Paris looked like the land that time forgot.

Nathaniel sat back into his seat and waited, watching Alya’s live feed to pass the time.

“I hope I’m not waiting here for nothing.” Nathaniel continued to talk to himself after a while.

He had learned along with the rest of Paris that Ladybird wouldn’t always need his help. So, he couldn’t accurately predict whether Ladybird would come for him, and thus when he’d need to place himself somewhere she could find him.

Since Alya had to navigate around large, and sometimes moving, plants, there were many points in the stream where she lost sight of the heroes. Each time, Nathaniel would bite his lip slightly in anticipation, only for Ladybird to still be fighting Iris and the Akumatised villain, named Thorny Vine, the next time Alya caught up.

Just as Nathaniel was beginning to think that he’s stayed in the art room for no reason, Ladybird came diving through the window.

“Wait, what?” Nathaniel startled.

Ladybird had once again disappeared from Alya’s sight without him realising.

“Waiting for me, are you.” Ladybird raised an eyebrow. “A bit presumptuous.”

“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?” Nathaniel defended.

“I suppose.” Ladybird shrugged.

She then held out a small wooden box out to Nathaniel.

“Congratulations, you get a new one.” Ladybird said. “We need someone who can cut through all those plants.”

“What power do I get this time?” Nathaniel asked with an eager grin.

“Camouflage.” Ladybird informed.

Nathaniel was almost bouncing on his feet as he opened the box, greeted by a purple light.

A tiger themed Kwami opened her eyes to regard Nathaniel.

“So, you’re the guy that Longg, Orikko and Sass have been talking about.” The Kwami said. “A little on the scrawny side.”

“I am not scrawny.” Nathaniel protested in offence. “I am svelt.”

“You look like you’ve hardly got any meat worth hunting.” The Kwami added.

“Can we please get to the part where I transform.” Nathaniel stomped a foot, pulling the jewellery that the Kwami had come with over his hand.

“Alright, fine.” The Kwami huffed. “All you need to say is ‘Roaar, Fangs Bared’.”

“Roaar, Fangs Bared!” Nathaniel repeated.

The Tiger Kwami was pulled back into her Miraculous, filling it with colour and transforming Nathaniel into his latest hero form.

“Woah.” Nathaniel admired his new weapon, three blades fastened to a handle.

“Come on, there’s only so long Chat Noir will be able to hold off Thorny Vine and Iris.” Ladybird turned to the window, Nathaniel quickly following her out.

…

As Nathaniel ran after Ladybird, he found his mind drifting back to the first time the heroine had recruited him.

It had been during the Sapotis attack, and Nathaniel had been unfortunate enough to be outside at night, having to go buy some milk from the closest open shop that his family couldn’t wait until morning to buy.

Said milk had quickly been stolen by the gremlin-like Akumas, leaving Nathaniel to try and navigate himself out of the way, which hadn’t been easy with so many duplicates.

Then a few of the Sapotis had decided that Nathaniel tripping over and landing on his hands and knees was an invite for them to have a pony ride, hopping on his back.

Thankfully, the Sapotis didn’t get to use Nathaniel as a plaything for long before a yoyo snapped all the fans from their hats and made them all disappear, freeing Nathaniel from their weight.

“Hey…uh…whatever your name is.” Ladybird had tried to recall Nathaniel’s name before shrugging and giving up. “You like heroes, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Nathaniel had answered hesitantly.

“So, would you save the world if you had powers?” Ladybird had then asked.

“Why wouldn’t I.” Was Nathaniel’s answer.

Said answer had apparently impressed Ladybird enough that she then handed the Dragon Miraculous over to the redhaired artist, with a heavy warning not to misuse it, and that he would have to give it back after helping to defeat Iris and the Sapotis.

Nathaniel’s first fight had been exhilarating, fighting alongside his heroes and literally turning into wind.

After the fight, when returning the Miraculous, Nathaniel asked the question that had burning in him the entire time.

“Why me?”

It had been a bit disheartening what Ladybird shrugged and said. “Because you were the first guy I saw that I had an inkling would be a good hero. Honestly, I got lucky that things worked out.”

So, Ladybird hadn’t seen anything special in Nathaniel that showed her he’s be a good teammate, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Still, no matter Nathaniel’s lucky origins as a hero, Ladybird clearly did see something in him during his time as Ladon, as she kept coming to him when she and Chat Noir needed a little extra help against Iris and her Akumas. It had been an incredible boost to his ego when Ladybird tracked him down to hand him the Rooster Miraculous.

…

When Ladybird and Nathaniel arrived at the fight, Nathaniel quickly leapt into action, using his new weapon to slice through the vines that had been holding Chat Noir hostage, Iris inches away from taking his ring.

“Cutting it a little close there.” Chat Noir grinned at his teammate as they retreated from the villains.

“So, you show up with yet another new Miraculous.” Iris looked Nathaniel over. “What’s your name this time, Tigger?”

Given that he already had three other hero names, Nathaniel decided that things were getting too confusing for him, keeping track of a different hero name for each Miraculous.

“Just call me Kleos from now on.” Nathaniel told the villain. “For all the forms I use to kick your ass.”

Iris did not look impressed by Nathaniel’s, now Kleos’, comment, but he didn’t expect her to be.

“Thorny Vine’s plants don’t let us get close enough to grab her object, which in the flower on her head.” Ladybird informed Kleos.

“And Miss colour clash is also proving to be a very annoying lookout.” Chat Noir added.

“Alright, I’ll see if I can get us though.” Kleos said, attacking.

The tiger-hero’s weapon was the best for dealing with Thorny Vine’s plants. While Ladybird and Chat Noir’s weapons could do damage thanks to the magic that created them, they just weren’t as effective.

Still, despite the extra hero, things were still proving difficult, as the heroes still couldn’t get close enough to Thorny Vine to grab her item.

“Lucky Charm!”

Kleos and Chat Noir watched as a grabber stick fell into Ladybird’s hands.

“Well, this is a thankfully more obvious thing.” Ladybird said as she pulled the trigger to snap the jaw open and shut. “I don’t know how much an extra metre of reach will give me though.”

Thorny Vine attacked with her plants, vines shooting out from the ground and walls to try and grab at the heroes, while Iris also added in her own attacks.

Despite her extra Miraculous allowing Iris to fight alongside her Akumas more efficiently, the villain still usually kept her distance, apart from delivering attacks she thought she could get away with, as both her Miraculous were in a far more grabbable location than the heroes’ Miraculous.

“Ugh, I think I’m getting hay fever.” Ladybird complained with a sniff.

As far as she was aware, she wasn’t allergic to anything, but all the plant matter in the air from Thorny Vine was really messing with her nose.

Avoiding a joint attack from Thorny Vine and Iris, the heroes hid behind a wall.

“I could Cataclysm the plants when we go for her, but she could just summon more.” Chat Noir frowned, trying to find a way to the Akumatised item.

“Could we lure her into a trap?” Kleos questioned.

Ladybird hummed in thought.

“Actually, I think I have an idea.” She said, handing the temp’ hero her grabber stick. “Kleos, go stand right in front of our statue, then activate your power and wait for an opportunity. Chat, we’ll need some cover so that the villains don’t realise Kleos has disappeared.

Chat Noir’s fake ears perked up in understanding.

“Right.” He agreed. “Cataclysm!”

He hit the ground right underneath them, sending the heroes right into the waterways beneath Paris.

Kleos and the heroic due quickly split in opposite directions as Thorny Vine followed them in, Ladybird and Chat Noir making sure to create noise as they ran so that the villain would follow them.

Kleos quickly found another manhole cover and climbed out to ground level, cutting through plant roots to lift the lid and looking around to make sure that Iris wasn’t there to spot him.

The temp hero then ran over to the statue of Ladybird and Chat Noir and stood in front of it.

“Camouflage!”

The stripes on Kleos’ costume glowed before his entire form rippled and became see-through, including the grabber he held.

It didn’t take long for the real Ladybird and Chat Noir to make their appearance, chased by Thorny Vine and Iris.

A small distance from the statue, Ladybird and Chat Noir stopped running, turning to face the two villains.

As they fought, the heroes concentrated on luring Thorny Vine into just the right place.

By the time the villains had realised that the heroes had set up a trap, Kleos had already used the grabber stick to snatch the Akumatised item from Thorny Vine’s head, dropping and crushing it underneath his foot.

As soon as the Akuma was released, Ladybird quickly caught it in her yoyo before turning to Iris as flute music played.

“Mirage!”

Iris’ favourite illusion, many duplicates of herself, appeared, running around randomly before going off in different directions to confuse the heroes.

Kleos dove at one of the Iris’, only for it to disappear.

Similarly, any of the Iris’ that Ladybird and Chat Noir attempted to catch also disappeared, proving to be just duplicates.

“Well, she’s gone.” Chat Noir frowned after the heroes had attempted to catch every Iris that they could, only for them all to be duplicates. “Again.”

“We need a way of keeping track of which Iris is the real one.” Ladybird released the butterfly in her yoyo and walked over to Kleos, taking the grabber off him.

Iris’ rarely used her Mirage ability in combat, usually reserving it for her escape when her Akumatised villain was defeated.

“Miraculous Ladybird!”

Ladybird threw the grabber into the air to activate her healing magic, cleaning up all the plants and returning everything to normal.

Everyone’s Miraculous’ then beeped, reminding them of their timers.

“Let’s go.” Ladybird said to Kleos.

Kleos nodded and the two heroes left together, Chat Noir watching them go with a pout before running off to detransform himself.

* * *

Finding an isolated location, Kleos transformed back into Nathaniel.

“That was a hard fight until the end.” Nathaniel noted as he took off the Tiger Miraculous and placed it back in the box it came in.

“Yeah. We’re lucky that Iris and her Akuma didn’t realise it was a trap.” Ladybird agreed as she took back the Miraculous.

“Hey, Ladybird.” Nathaniel stopped Ladybird before she could swing off. “If you have so many Miraculous at your disposal, why don’t you bring someone else onto the team? Fights would be easier with more than just me helping out.”

“It’s…” Ladybird tried to find an answer. “A matter of trust. I have to be sure that the person I give the Miraculous to will actually work with us and won’t try to keep the Miraculous afterwards.”

“And there isn’t anyone other than me that you can trust?” Nathaniel asked.

Ladybird shrugged.

“I…don’t know people very well.” She admitted. “So, there’s no one in my life that I know to trust. Honestly, the only reason I chose you is because I knew you vaguely in my real life and remembered that you liked heroes, so I took a gamble on you being a good person because Chat and I needed an extra hero. I was just lucky that you did turn out to be a good hero.”

“You need to reach out then, make connections and find people that you can trust.” Nathaniel advised.

He understood where Ladybird was coming from, he’d been alone himself and reluctant to make friends only the year prior. But Ladybird was the hero of Paris and couldn’t afford to isolate herself when she needed teammates to call on.

“It’s easier to be alone.” Ladybird muttered.

“The best things are never easy.” Nathaniel repeated the advice he’s once been given.

“Yeah.” Ladybird nodded.

Her earrings beeped urgently, signalling that she had less than a minute left.

Without another word, Ladybird cast out her yoyo and swung off.

Nathaniel sighed and then checked his phone.

“Afternoon classes are still on?” He groaned at the message he was met with.

With another groan, Nathaniel began to walk his was back to the school, still feeling tired from the fight.

“Hopefully, Ladybird can find someone else she trusts soon.” He said to himself as he walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Comment  
> Unlike canon, Ladybird doesn’t really follow the one-person-per-Miraculous thing, she prefers to give them all to the person she already knows can function as a hero and teammate, but that’s going to lead to its own issues down the line.  
> Readers of my original story will notice that I’m introducing Casey much earlier and having her interact with characters, that’s because Ladybird started off as a literal nothing character who only served to fill a spot, and then evolved to an actual character over the course of the original story. So, I’m having this story include her from the beginning.  
> I’m basing Casey heavily on what I remember being like as a teenager, but at the same time, trying to keep her as her own character, rather than a self-insert.  
> In my original story, Nathaniel got the Fox Miraculous (it’s right there in the title), but since season 2 revealed that the other heroes are temp’ and the Zodiac Miraculous, I decided to change things up. And I wanted the villain to have a Miraculous fusion, and the Fox ended up being my best choice for villain Miraculous, meaning that Nathaniel could no longer be “Renard Rouge” anyway.  
> …  
> And I’ll explain here that they’ll be no potion power-ups in this story, since they’re already not used that much in canon and it’s easy to write them out in this story. (And also to cut down on the amount of character art that I’ll be making to go along with this story, which there’s already going to be a lot of with the multiple forms of the temp’ heroes [I made over 30 pieces for my Nymph story].)  
> Speaking of which, find a concept design for Tiger-Nathaniel on my DeviantART at DreamVixen2511 or my Tumblr at Asexual Individual.  
> https://www.deviantart.com/dreamvixen2511/art/Tiger-Nathaniel-rough-draft-849064308  
> https://asexual-individual.tumblr.com/image/623927217035100160


	5. Little Kitty on a Roof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's have some Adrien PoV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants, I can make a post on my Tumblr summarising the changes that having Ladybird as a hero instead of Marinette, Marinette as a regular civilian and Lila as part of the cast from the start, would have on each episode from Origins to Style Queen.

“~Little kitty on a roof…~”

Chat Noir kicked his legs, looking out at nothing as he sang.

He’d chosen the top of the Eiffel Tower to sit, a rather predictable location in Paris, but the art piece held many memories for the hero.

There was the sound of something small hitting metal and then a chord being yanked behind the cat themed hero.

Chat Noir looked over as Ladybird dropped down to sit beside him, braids clacking as she moved.

He always found it funny how, when Ladybird needed to be stealthy, the beads magically stopped producing sound when moving against each other.

The superhero due was quiet for a minute, just enjoying the view.

“So,” Ladybird eventually spoke. “You got anything on your mind?”

“It’s…” Chat Noir deliberated going for the easy lie, to just say that he was fine and try to move on, but decided not to. “It’s you.”

“Me?” Ladybird raised an eyebrow under her mask.

“You, Kleos and all your secrets.” Chat Noir vented. “You get to know the guy’s identity, you get access to all these Miraculous, you get to know so much more than I do. And I don’t get why.”

“Chat.” Ladybird sighed, having already explained things to her teammate before. “I would love to tell you, I really would, but all of it isn’t my secret to tell. And only I can know Kleos’ identity for the same reason we can’t know each other’s identities, Iris possibly Akumatising us and finding out what we know.”

“I know.” Chat Noir frowned, pulling a knee to his chest. “But I’m still not happy about it. So many things have been kept from me, my father just shutting me out, and I thought that being Chat Noir would be an escape from that, to have someone I can fully trust and someone who fully trusts me. But now it’s happening again.”

This wasn’t the first time Chat Noir had divulged some of his home life to his partner and friend, though he always made sure to keep things vague enough so as to not give away his identity, Ladybird always providing an ear and encouraging him to let out how he felt.

“Hey, don’t compare me to that Smegger.” Ladybird used slang unfamiliar to Chat Noir.

Because of Chat Noir venting to Ladybird about his father, she had understandably built up a negative view of the faceless man, feeling no remorse in insulting him in front of his son.

Sometimes, Chat Noir thought that Ladybird took it too far, but he also appreciated how she didn’t hold back her thoughts in an effort to preserve his feelings, like his other friends.

“So, what has he done now?” Ladybird asked.

Chat Noir gave a bitter laugh. “Oh, nothing much. Just that one of my friends gets to see my father than me, his own son, because she has an apprenticeship with him.” He explained.

“That is so messed up!” Ladybird exclaimed.

Chat Noir nodded, feeling vindicated by his friend’s reaction.

“Have you talked to him about it?” Ladybird asked.

Chat Noir shook his head. “What would be the point.” He said. “He’d probably just brush me off. And that’s if I managed to speak to him in the first place.”

Ladybird sighed.

“You know, when we can finally reveal our identities to each other, the first thing I’m going to do is punch your father in the face.” She declared.

Chat Noir laughed.

“No, you won’t.” He said, not taking his partner seriously.

“I’m serious.” Ladybird insisted. “I’m not going to let the neglectful prick get away with how he’s treated you.”

“Well, I suppose little Miss if-I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-my-lucky-charm-I-use-it-for-blunt-force would be the type to follow through on that sort of threat.” Chat Noir joked.

“Hey, it’s worked until now.” Ladybird defended herself.

As her Lucky Charm ability tended to provide her with a random item to save the day, Ladybird was left not always knowing how to use it, though she had managed to come up with plenty of creative solutions the other times. So, the heroine defaulted to the logic of ‘I have no idea how to use this, this thing is heavy, time to use brute force’, leaving many a villain with a bruised head before the Miraculous Cure healed them.

“So,” Ladybird shifted back to the original topic. “How’s things with this ‘friend’ of yours, then?”

“Well, I don’t blame her, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Chat told her. “I’m even happy for her. This apprenticeship really helps her. And it’s not like she can control what my father does.”

“Well, look at you, Mr Mature.” Ladybird said, bringing Chat Noir into a one-armed hug.

Chat Noir appreciated the hug, knowing from experience that Ladybird wasn’t one for physical contact.

The hero liked to imagine that his relationship with Ladybird was what having a sister would be like.

“Anyway,” Chat Noir decided to change topic. “What’s on your mind?”

“What do you mean?” Ladybird asked.

“Something’s clearly off in your life.” Chat Noir said knowingly.

“And what makes you say that?” Ladybird asked in disbelief.

“Because whenever you’ve got something on your mind, you chew your hair.” Chat Noir pointed out with a grin.

Ladybird paused and realised she had been worrying the beads of one of her braids between her teeth without thinking.

The heroine quickly spat her braid out.

“I thought I’d stopped doing that.” She muttered quietly to herself.

“So, what’s wrong?” Chat Noir asked again. “If I have to divulge all my nasty feelings, you have to do it too.”

Ladybird sighed.

“My breasts are too big.” She said simply.

If Chat Noir had been drinking something, it most definitely would have ended up spat down onto any hapless pedestrian passing under the Eiffel Tower. As it was, he just settled for choking on his own spit instead.

“Uh…” Chat Noir mumbled between coughs.

He had no idea to respond to his friend.

Did he assure her that her breasts weren’t too big? Would that end up offending her?

Ladybird didn’t seem to notice her partner’s inner turmoil.

“None of my tops fit me right anymore.” She continued to complain. “I go to zip up my jacket and it fits just fine until I get to my chest, then it’s suddenly all tight. And when I look at them in the mirror, it doesn’t look like they belong there at all, just lumps of fat glued to my chest.”

Tears peaked in Ladybird’s eyes as she explained her body issues.

“Hey, it’s alright.” Chat Noir tried to comfort.

Chat Noir was well aware that he wasn’t the best educated on world issues, but he knew enough when it came to matters of body and gender, and Ladybird’s explanation brought some recognition.

“Do…do I need to start calling you a different name?” Chat Noir asked his partner.

“No.” Ladybird sniffed and shook her head. “I know that I’m female. I just get these moments where I don’t like my body. I mean, why would anyone find breasts attractive? All they are is a big pain in my…chest.”

“Aw, come here.” Chat Noir said, bringing Ladybird into a hug.

He then snickered at how Ladybird’s arms stuck out awkwardly, just letting the hug happen.

When the two parted, Ladybird let out a yawn.

“Tired?” Chat Noir asked.

Ladybird just hummed in response, giving neither a yes nor a no. 

“Well, someone needs to stop going to bed so late.” Chat Noir joked.

“Meh.” Ladybird responded.

“So, you have been staying up late then?”

“Meh.”

“You can use words you know.”

“…Meh.”

The two heroes then laughed before lapsing into a comfortable silence.

Chat Noir eventually climbed to his feet.

“I need to get back, before I’m noticed missing.” He said.

As he extended his pole all the way down to ground level, Ladybird also stood.

“I can’t let you in on the secrets myself.” Ladybird reiterated what she had told her partner. “But I can try to get them to tell you instead. Though, I make no promises.”

“Thanks.” Chat Noir smiled. “Bye.”

With a wave, the hero jumped onto his staff and began retracting it, the magical weapon taking him down from the Eiffel Tower.

* * *

Adrien yawned into the back of his hand as he walked into the courtyard.

‘I guess I should take my own advice about not going to bed late.’ He mused to himself.

Due to having his eyes closed to yawn, Adrien wasn’t looking where he was going, sure that his path was clear from his prior glance.

So, of course, he ended up knocking into someone because he’d neglected to check his sides.

Thankfully, it was only a soft impact, so nobody ended up on the ground this time.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The person he bumped into apologised.

“It’s alright, I wasn’t either.” Adrien returned.

He looked down to see Marinette, noticing that she was holding herself weirdly.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“I’m fine.” Marinette stood up straight, only to then wince. “I’ve just decided to take up exercise. You, stay healthy and all that.”

“Ah.” Adrien nodded in understanding.

He could now recognise how he would hold himself after a gruelling fencing session in Marinette, familiar with the ache of exerting himself.

“Yeah, I’ve also heard that exercise is good for managing stress.” Marinette added.

“Father isn’t working you too hard, is he?” Adrien worried.

“No, I’m fine.” Marinette waved off. “And I’m grateful for the experience I’m getting.”

“Are you sure?” Adrien questioned.

He knew enough about Marinette to know that she had a bad habit of overworking herself.

“I said I’m fine.” Marinette rolled her eyes.

“So, you’re not going to fall asleep in class and then jerk awake, shouting about lapels?” Adrien raised an eyebrow.

“That was one time.” Marinette pouted.

“It was still hilarious.” Any annoying voice interrupted. “Second only to the accidents your clumsiness causes.”

Adrien adopted a fixed expression while Marinette grimaced, both turning to see Chloe walking over.

Chloe wasted no time in shoving past Marinette, pushing the girl away, while latching onto Adrien’s arm.

“Adrien, any word on whether you’ll be coming to my birthday party?” Chloe tugged on Adrien’s arm as she spoke.

“I should be able to, though father doesn’t want me staying for too long.” Adrien told his childhood friend. “And I’m not allowed to eat anything.”

“That is so stupid.” Chloe complained. “As if I’d let anything horrible to eat at my party. Tell him that everything at my party is perfectly fine for a model’s diet.”

“I’ll try.” Adrien sighed, unsuccessfully trying to subtly shake Chloe’s grip.

“I’ve got my best outfit picked out for the party, so we’ll need to go through your wardrobe to make sure that your outfit will pair with mine perfectly.” Chloe went on.

“Chloe, your birthday’s still over a week away.” Adrien pointed out.

“The best parties are always properly planned.” Chloe told Adrien matter-of-factly. “I’m not going to let even the smallest detail go wrong this year. Mother needs to see just how fabulous everything is. With her home, I can already tell that she’s going to give me the best present ever.”

“I’m sure she will.” Adrien forced a smile.

Knowing Chloe’s mother, he somehow doubted it.

Rather abruptly, Adrien found his other arm being latched onto, equalling the weight pulling at him on both sides.

“Oh, I know this really famous and popular party planner who could help with your party.” Lila told Chloe as she gripped Adrien’s arm tightly. “They’d be really busy at such short notice, but I could try and put a word in.”

Chloe scoffed dismissively, putting Adrien towards her.

“Daddy’s already hired the best in the business.” She said. “I don’t need pathetic handouts.”

“Ah, you must have hired the person I was going to suggest then.” Lila smiled, pulling Adrien towards her as well.

Lila then turned her attention towards Adrien.

“Maybe I can get them to plan your next birthday party instead.” She suggested.

Adrien returned a fixed smile.

“I don’t think that my father would allow a party.” Adrien rejected. “I mean, Nino had to get Akumatised for me to get my last birthday party.”

“If we team up and work on him together, I’m sure that we can convince your father to allow you a party next year. You know, I can be very convincing and charming.” Lila boasted.

“Yeah, as charming as a snake.” Chloe snapped back.

“Just because I’m more popular than you, doesn’t mean that you have to take it out on me.” Lila faked being hurt, pulling Adrien closer to try and get him to comfort her.

Adrien sweat dropped at the two arguing girls, looking over towards where he’d last seen Marinette, hoping that she’d save him, somehow. Unfortunately, she was no longer there, having abandoned Adrien to the mercies of Chloe and Lila.

‘Traitor.’ Adrien internally pouted at his friend’s abandonment.

Adrien’s saviour turned out to be the bell, providing Adrien with the excuse he needed to extract himself from Chloe and Lila’s death grips so that he wouldn’t be late for class.

Once in his seat, Adrien rubbed his arms up and down to try and get the circulation going in them again, while Nino patted his back in sympathy.

* * *

After classes let out, Adrien managed to dodge both Chloe and Lila, hiding away in the male changing rooms until it was time for his fencing practice.

“I don’t know why you’re complaining.” Plagg commented as Adrien pulled on his fencing kit. “Many of my kittens loved to have women hanging off them.”

“I’m just not comfortable with it.” Adrien told his kwami. “I’m not attracted to either of them and they never ask.”

“Then just tell them to leave you alone, and shove them off if they don’t listen.” Plagg advised like it was the most obvious choice ever.

“But I don’t want to be rude.” Adrien protested. “And I don’t want to hurt them.”

“Kid, don’t sacrifice your comfort for the comfort of others, especially if they’re those girls.” Plagg advised, grabbing some of his camembert from Adrien’s bag.

“Does that mean that I can stop buying you that cheese because its scent makes me uncomfortable.” Adrien pointed at the cheese.

“Never!” Plagg gasped, quickly swallowing his cheese whole as if Adrien would take it from him.

Rolling his eyes, Adrien grabbed his fencing helmet and foil, walking out into the courtyard where his fellow fencers were practicing.

“Adrien, you are my partner today.” A fencer dressed in red approached Adrien.

“Oh, sure, Kagami.” Adrien said, pulling on his helmet.

The two got into position before attacking.

Adrien was glad that Kagami had joined the club after the whole Riposte Akumatisation incident, as she always provided him with a challenge when fencing.

After a few minutes, Kagami managed to hit first, prompting them to stop.

“One point to you, Kagami.” Adrien lifted his helmet to get a brief breath of fresh air.

“You’re off.” Kagami pointed out without preamble.

“What?” Adrien cocked his head in confusion.

“Your fencing, you’re not as on point today.” Kagami said simply. “Something is distracting you from our fight.”

“Oh.” Adrien said.

Though Kagami could come across as cold, Adrien appreciated how straight-forward she was. She reminded him of Ladybird in a way, though Kagami could related to Adrien in a way that his partner couldn’t.

“I’ve just got a lot on my mind lately, with my father. You know?” Adrien scratched the back of his neck.

Kagami nodded understanding, thoughts of her own mother sometimes distracting her at inopportune times.

“Agreste, Miss Tsurugi, I do not see you fencing!” The fencing instructor shouted from across the courtyard.

Sighing, Adrien lowered his helmet and the two readied again, though it didn’t stop them from speaking.

“You know my friend, Marinette?” Adrien asked as he went it for a jab.

“Vaguely.” Kagami parried.

“Well, she’s got an apprenticeship with my father, which means that she’s getting to see him more than I do.” Adrien repeated what he had told Ladybird as he was forced on the defensive.

“I see.” Kagami thrust forward. “And what is Marinette’s view on this?”

“What do you mean?” Adrien parried and then thrust.

“Have you communicated to Marinette about your issue?” Kagami pulled back to avoid being hit.

“No.” Adrien admitted as he was put back on the defensive. “I don’t want to put any unnecessary baggage on her, she’s already busy. And this apprenticeship is important to her, I don’t want to make her feel guilty for having it, or think she has to quit for me.”

The match ended with Kagami sliding past Adrien’s strike and once again hitting him.

“That is foolish.” Kagami stood up straight. “From what I to understand of friendships, failure to communicate properly can lead to misunderstandings, which can then lead to strains in that friendship. Mother has warned me a few times about how failure to communicate led to the loss of allies. Marinette would likely appreciate knowing of how you feel, so that she does not accidently say or do something to hurt you.

“Yeah, I guess that you’re right.” Adrien agreed.

For someone who was more alien to the concept of friendship than Adrien had been when first joining a public school, Kagami could sometimes offer wise advice in the field.

“I’ll talk to Marinette later.” Adrien said.

“Good.” Kagami nodded.

She then got into the ready pose, Adrien copying her.

The two then started their third round.

* * *

Adrien stretched as he walked into the male changing room.

He and Kagami had practiced for longer than the others, meaning that he was the only one there as he pulled off his uniform.

“You seem to be getting close to your new friend.” Plagg poked out of Adrien’s bag to tease.

“Yeah, Kagami’s nice once you get past her initial coldness.” Adrien said, not getting what Plagg was hinting at.

“So, think you’ll date her?” Plagg decided to go for a more direct approach.

Adrien frowned at his Kwami before thinking.

“I haven’t known Kagami for long enough to say.” He said. “I mean, she’s cute. But I don’t know if we’d match in _that_ way.”

“What about Marinette then?” Plagg continued to tease. “You’ve said that she’s cute before, and you like to be around her.”

“That doesn’t mean that I like her in _that_ way either, Plagg.” Adrien rolled his eyes. “Not every boy has to want to date every girl he’s close with.”

“What about-”

“That’s enough out of you.” Adrien pushed Plagg back into his bag. “I am not talking relationships right now, especially not with you.”

Picking up his bags, Adrien walked out of the changing room to go meet with his driver in front of the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment  
> Some more character interactions. I hope I’ve properly set up the Chat Noir/Ladybird dynamic, with them being like close siblings instead of romantically interested.  
> If Chat did gain a crush on Ladybird, it would have been quickly snuffed out with Ladybird’s tactless demeanour and lack of social awareness.  
> (Nadja’s attempts to spin them as being in a relationship in Prime Queen would have ended much more poorly for her in this version.)  
> Ladybird is definitely comfortable enough with Chat Noir to divulge how she feels about her body and doesn’t care about how uncomfortable how it would make him feel.  
> Part of their interaction was based off of a running joke I have with my mum. When I don’t want to do something, I’ll sometimes respond with something like “meh”, mum will reiterate and add to what I have to do, with me continuing to not speak properly in response, until she says “you can use words you know”. It’s all a joke and I will end up doing what I have to do.  
> And though Gabriel isn’t a villain anymore, that doesn’t mean that he’d not still a neglectful walking piece of garbage, and I’m not going to let that go unaddressed.


	6. Show Your Colours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is going to have to dance, Adrien makes his feelings known and a confession is made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s been a bit. I wanted to focus on getting my other story “The Stolen Child” finished before continuing with this story

Marinette felt like dragging her feet as she walked along the road, weighed down by the heaviness of her limbs.

Not even a week in and Marinette was regretting her choice to become a superhero, or at least a superhero trained by Gabriel.

Just like his attitude towards Marinette as a Fashion apprentice, Gabriel was strict and with high expectations, training his successor until she was one big sore spot. As a result, Marinette felt like what she expected old people to feel like as her muscles were reconstructed to fit her new activity, and she was not allowed to rest. So sore and tired, Marinette couldn’t even find the energy to engage in her fashion making outside of brief moments in the Art Club.

And Marinette was just starting out, her training so far was apparently easy.

“Ooh!”

Marinette barely had any time to comprehend Duusu’s exclamation of excitement before her Kwami was flying out of her purse and over to an outdoor noticeboard she was just passing by.

“Duusu!” Marinette whisper-yelled, looking around frantically to see if anyone had seen her Kwami fly out into the open.

Thankfully, no one was around, but that didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be soon.

“Marinette, look at this.” Duusu pointed at one of the flyers.

Marinette looked at the flyer, which was covered in silhouettes of dancing people.

“The local dance studio?” Marinette said. “What about it?”

“You should join.” Duusu proclaimed eagerly.

“Uh, I don’t think so.” Marinette denied.

“Why not?” Duusu pouted. “You’d look so beautiful and graceful on a stage.”

“Me, graceful?” Marinette said disbelievingly. “No way. If I tried to dance, I’d probably end up falling on someone, then they’d break their leg, resulting in a career ending injury, then I’d get sued, end up in jail, then no one would want to hire me and I’d spend the rest of my life working out of a McDonalds or something, while everyone else gets to live successful jobs.”

Duusu blinked at his wielder, wondering where Marinette had pulled that chain of events from.

“Calm down, Marinette.” Duusu soothed. “That won’t happen. You have a wild imagination.”

“Yeah, I know.” Marinette sighed.

“So…” Duusu said. “Since that unlikely event won’t happen, you should-”

“No.” Marinette cut him off, grabbing the Kwami and placing him back inside her purse.

Spinning on her feet, Marinette renewed her trek at double the speed so that she wouldn’t be late.

* * *

Near the Agreste mansion was a rather unassuming building, with no signs or logos to advertise its purpose, and certainly no identifiers to link it to Gabriel Agreste.

Entering into the building using a special fob on the door, Marinette entered into a large gym, training equipment to one side and a large open space to the other.

The was also a door to one side, leading into a dressing room that Marinette used to change into a tank-top, sweatpants and plimsoles.

“You could have picked a nicer looking outfit.” Duusu complained, pouting slightly at the varying shades of grey that Marinette was wearing.

Marinette rolled her eyes, having had this conversation a few times before. So, she didn’t bother pointing out how nice clothes would get ruined by her sweat, as Duusu would just respond back about how Marinette could both sweat and be stylish.

Mr Agreste was already waiting for Marinette when she entered back into the main area of the gym, having appeared though a secret door that led to the Agreste mansion through a tunnel, if Duusu was to be believed.

Despite all the times training with him before, Marinette still found it strange to see her mentor in exercise clothes himself and not in his usual suit.

Shaking her head, Marinette quickly fell into the routine that had been given to her, starting her warm-ups while Duusu floated over to join Gabriel.

The first part of Marinette’s training had become rather easy at this point, doing a circuit of the exercise machines to build up her endurance. But then came the second half, the sparring to teach Marinette how to fight.

“Good.” Gabriel complimented his studently blandly as they went through the motions. “But pay better attention to where your feet are, otherwise-”

“Ah!” Marinette yelped as her teacher effortlessly sent her to the training mat they were on.

“Again.” Gabriel immediately ordered.

Rubbing her sore tailbone, Marinette got to her feet, this time making sure to pay attention to the position of her feet as told.

However, this time it took even less time for her to be sent back to the ground than before.

“Again.” Gabriel repeated.

Marinette bit her lip in frustration, wondering just what she was doing wrong with her feet.

Once again, it didn’t take long for Marinette to end up on her back.

“Concentrate on me, not your feet!” Gabriel ordered. “Again.”

That caused Marinette to frown to herself, her teacher had just told her to pay attention to her feet, and now he was saying not to do that. Was she meant to do both? Could she do both? Oh, she was meant to keep the placement of her feet in mind but still concentrate on her opponent, that made more sens-.

Marinette’s thought process was interrupted by her ending up on her back for what already felt like the tenth time, having not paid attention to the spar at all.

Gabriel sighed aggressively.

“You’re obviously not yet in your working mind set.” He said. “Go over your katas until you’ve cleared your mind.”

“Yes sir.” Marinette said, looking away.

She began to go over the movements that Gabriel had given her at the beginning of her training as Gabriel left the mat.

Gabriel watched as Marinette went through her movements with clear still, quickly speeding up as she suddenly had no issue with the placement of her feet.

“I don’t get what is wrong, Duusu.” Gabriel talked quietly with his former Kwami. “Miss Dupain-Cheng has clear potential, I’ve seen it. But every training session she starts to fail and I don’t understand what the issue is.”

“The issue is you Gabriel.” The Peacock Kwami answered simply.

“Me?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“Kind of.” Duusu shrugged. “You are one of Marinette’s idols and you chose her for an important job, so she wants to impress you. But it seems that she has issues with over-thinking things and self-consciousness.” The Kwami thought back to the freak-out Marinette had had earlier. “And training against you is bringing those issues to the forefront, causing her to slip up as a result.”

“I can’t exactly control how Miss Dupain-Cheng reacts to me.” Gabriel said blandly.

“You could start by having some emotion.” Duusu muttered under his breath.

“And I have to be here to supervise her training.” Gabriel continued, having not hear his former Kwami’s comment.

“Marinette simply needs an activity that can help her regulate her stress better and be more confident with her movements, one not headed by a teacher she holds in such high regard and who she’d feel safer making mistakes around.” Duusu advised. “But I guess it’d also need to be an activity that could help with her training. Did I mention that there’s a rather nice-looking dance school nearby?” He added with a grin.

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea.” Gabriel agreed. “If Miss Dupain-Cheng is to be my successor, she will need to be confident in her movements. And dance training can help her skills as well.”

Unseen by Gabriel, Duusu grinned in triumph, trilling happily.

…

“That will conclude today’s session.” Gabriel informed Marinette.

Marinette panted, once again lifting herself off the floor.

“You are improving.” Gabriel informed Marinette. “But you are overthinking everything, and that is making your training suffer.”

“Sorry, sir.” Marinette instinctively apologised.

“I want you to take up dance classes to improve this. I will cut down on your training so that you have the time.” Gabriel told Marinette.

“What?” Marinette startled at the news.

“This will not be a problem, will it?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

Marinette caught sight of Duusu floating near Gabriel and glared at her Kwami, knowing that he had to be behind her mentor’s decision.

“No, sir.” She said, not wanting to disappoint her mentor.

Going back into the changing rooms, Marinette quickly changed back into her normal clothes.

“Really?” Marinette questioned Duusu when the Kwami followed her in.

“Dance is a legitimate form of training and can help you build confidence.” Duusu defended himself. “Gabriel could have easily come to the decision on his own.”

“Ugh,” Marinette complained. “Now I have to embarrass myself in front of a dance instructor as well as Mr Agreste.”

“You won’t.” Duusu assured.

When they emerged from the changing room, Gabriel was already gone, so Marinette left the private gym to head towards the dance studio.

It was a thankfully short journey to the dance studio, Marinette stopping outside to gaze at the list of classes that were being offered.

“There are so many.” Marinette’s eye twitched, daunted by the number of classes offered and unsure which to pick.

“Ooh, how about ballet? You’ll look so graceful.” Marinette’s eyes widened as Duusu once again discarded caution to gush over dancing.

Thankfully, just like before, there wasn’t yet anyone close enough to see or hear him.

“Look, there’s a Chinese dance class here. You could bond more with your culture with that. There’s also tapdancing, that always produces such a lovely rhythm. But you should also so ballroom, that would be perfect for finding a mate and showing your colours-.” Duusu continued on until he’d named every form of dance on the list at least once.

“Okay, stop.” Marinette eventually interrupted, grabbing Duusu and pushing him back into her purse. “I’m only doing one.”

She’d rather be doing none, but she didn’t want to disobey a direct order from Mr Agreste.

Talking a deep breath, Marinette entered into the building.

There were many people inside and also many branching paths, leaving Marinette feeling lost as soon as she stepped inside, unsure of where to go.

“Can I help you?”

Marinette turned to see who she assumed to be the receptionist.

“I-um-I was looking to join a dance class. I mean, obviously I am since I’m here. But, I-uh don’t know what type to pick or really what I should be doing.” Marinette explained uncertainly.

“That’s fine.” The receptionist smiled. “Not everyone is going to be sure on what type of dance they want. Thankfully, many of our classes are in today, so you can take a peek in on them to see if any of them catch your interest.

“I’d like that, thank you.” Marinette says in relief.

Under the guidance of the receptionist, Marinette gets to view many of the dance classes that are on offer. Marinette didn’t get to view all of them, as not every class can be on at the same time, which was a shame since Marinette had been rather interested in seeing the Chinese dance class, but the classes that were in session gave her a good impression of what there were like.

The final class they came upon was what really caught Marinette’s interest.

The dancers weren’t moving in any way like in the other dance classes, their movements seemingly random. They also had no dance uniforms beyond regular training clothes, unlike most of the other dance classes Marinette had seen.

“And, finally, we have our Freestyle class, which is taught by Miss Zoe Cain, who also teaches many of the other classes that aren’t in right now.” The receptionist introduced to Marinette.

The more Marinette watched the students, the more Marinette grew to like the style, the way the dancers seemed to tumble around like they weighed less than they did and seemingly made it all fluid and graceful. And Marinette could see multiple ways that the moves could be integrated into fighting too.

“Hello there. A new recruit?” An accented voice draws attention to the dance instructor, Zoe. “Well, you are welcome to my class, it’s always a joy to see people express their grace and new faces for my troupe.”

“Uh, not really, actually.” Marinette said. “That is to say, I’m not sure yet.”

“Ah.” Zoe smiled. “Scouting then. I understand, I didn’t know where to start either.”

The dance instructor then proceeded to give Marinette a breakdown of the freestyle dance class, from the basics to the more complicated moved she taught.

“Of course, I teach many other classes here, if you’d be more interested in those.” Zoe then added.

“I think I like this class, but I’m still not sure overall.” Marinette said.

“I’m glad that you’re at least thinking about it. You look like you’d make a great dancer, and it’d be a shame to waste such potential.” Zoe said.

“Thanks. I’m not sure I’d make a great dancer though. I’m actually really clumsy.” Marinette rubbed her arm.

“With practice, even stumbles can be turned into yet another move in the dance.” Zoe waved off.

Marinette hummed.

“I guess.” She said. “But I think I’ll wait for a bit before I decide.” She decided.

“That’s fine.” Zoe assured. “We’ll still be here when you decide.”

Shaking the woman’s hand, Marinette left, sighing in relief as she stepped back out into the open streets.

It wasn’t like the dance studio had an oppressive atmosphere, but there had been some pressure of expectation that she was now free of.

“You didn’t pick anything.” Duusu pouted from inside Marinette’s purse.

“I don’t want to make a hasty decision.” Marinette told her Kwami. “Really I should have researched everything before stepping foot in the studio.”

Marinette likely would have felt a lot less lost if she’d stopped to think after being dismissed from her training, and realised she’d need to research the dance classes first.

With that in mind, Marinette decided to head home.

* * *

Adrien fought to keep his smile relaxed and natural as his photographer darted around him with his camera in hand.

He really didn’t see the point in this photoshoot, other than to add yet more photographs to the ever-growing pile, ready for someone in his father’s company to comb through for just that ‘right’ photograph for their next advertisement or fashion magazine.

Honestly, sometime Adrien felt like his father booked these photoshoots for no other reason than to keep him busy and out of the way.

As he went through the motions, Adrien spotted Marinette walking down the street and saw a chance for a temporary escape.

“Alright, I’m calling for a break.” Adrien called to his photographer.

The photographer sighed but accepted, mumbling about how stiff Adrien was in his photos.

Adrien quickly jogged over to his friend as she passed by the park, thankfully catching her before she could cross the street to her home.

“Hi, Marinette.”

“Oh, hey, Adrien.”

The two friends greeted.

“Another photoshoot?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah.” Adrien nodded. “Honestly, I have no idea what it’s even for.”

“I’m sure it’s for something or other, or maybe just to get you to practice. I hear standing and looking pretty for the camera is actually very hard work.” Marinette partially teased, knowing that a lot of effort really did go into being a good model.

“Yes, no one can stand there and look pretty like I can.” Adrien joined in the joke. “So, where have you been?”

“Oh, just back from my apprenticeship training, you know.” Marinette said, deciding to not mention her trip to the dance studio.

“Oh.” Adrien said.

His talks with both Ladybird and Kagami came to the forefront of his mind.

 _‘Well, now’s as good as a time as any.’_ Adrien mentally decided.

Plus, he was pretty sure that he’d start finding excuses to put it off if he didn’t speak up now.

“Marinette, can we talk a bit more privately?” Adrien asked.

“Uh, sure.” Marinette said. “My house is right over there if you want.”

Marinette turned and looked at Marinette’s home above the bakery.

“Hang on a second.” He said.

Jogging over to where his bodyguard/driver was stationed, Adrien checked to make sure he was allowed to leave the park for a bit, assuring the large man that it would be just over the road and that Marinette was a friend.

Thankfully, after a scrutinising stare, the bodyguard nodded his head.

“Thanks, you’re the best.” Adrien grinned, heading back over to Marinette to tell her that he could join her at her house.

Unseen by Adrien, his bodyguard smiled slightly at the compliment.

…

“So, what did you want to talk privately about?” Marinette asked as she prepared them some tea.

“Ah, well…” Adrien rubbed his neck as he began stalling.

Despite his resolution to ‘get it out of the way’ he really didn’t want to confront what was bound to be an awkward conversation.

“Ah.” Adrien then hissed as he felt something jab his side.

He glared down at where he knew Plagg to be hiding.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with my father right, for your apprenticeship?” Adrien started off.

“Only a few hours each week.” Marinette answered.

Well, that was only counting the apprenticeship, it was actually a few more hours than that when factoring in Marinette’s training on top of that.

“Right, well. Funny thing really. Did you know that you actually spend more time with him than I do?” Adrien just ended up blurting it out.

Marinette stopped making the tea to turn around and look at Adrien.

“What?” She questioned, unable to believe what she’d just heard.

“Yeah.” Adrien shifted uncomfortably on the Dupain-Cheng’s sofa. “I don’t get to see my father all that often since he’s always so busy. So, you actually get to see him more than I do.” Adrien forced a laugh, trying and failing to alleviate the tension he was feeling.

He clenched his fingers as he waited for Marinette’s reaction.

“Adrien…” Marinette tried to find the right words, hand going to her purse in search of support from Duusu. “That’s not right.”

Adrien relaxed as he looked up at his friend.

He didn’t know why since Marinette was one of the most considerate people he knew, but he’d been worried that she would side with his father as his apprentice.

“I shouldn’t be seeing him more than you, you’re his son. How much to you exactly see him anyway?” Marinette asked, indignant on the behalf of her friend.

“It…it varies, I guess.” Adrien was hesitant to answer honestly.

“It’s still not right.” Marinette concluded. “I’m going to talk to him about it.

“What? No!” Adrien exclaimed. “Please, don’t risk your apprenticeship for me.”

“But Adrien-”

“No!”

It made him happy that Marinette would be willing to speak to his father, but he also didn’t want his father getting angry at her because she decided to speak on his behalf.

“Fine.” Marinette sighed as she went back to tending the tea, pouring the hot water.

Giving Adrien his tea, Marinette sat down herself.

“Thank you, Marinette.” Adrien sighed, blowing on his tea and taking in the calming scent.

“Adrien, you know, if anything ever bothers you, you can come to me to talk.” Marinette offered to her friend.

Adrien smiled. “I will. Thanks.” He said.

Of all the things that had happened since finally being able to join public school, a support base had been one of the unexpected yet most welcome changes. Adrien now having several people, from heroic partners to classmates, who he knew he could confide in.

Drinking his tea, Adrien found himself relaxing in the homely atmosphere, the Dupain-Cheng household much different to his own.

Unfortunately, the calm was quickly interrupted by a message from his photographer, telling him to get back from his break.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Marinette.” Adrien said as he finished his tea.

“You’re welcome.” Marinette said as she saw her friend to the door. “I’ll see you at school.”

Adrien repeated the sentiment as he left.

As soon as the door was closed, Duusu came out of hiding.

“Oh, Gabriel.” The Kwami sighed sadly. “Why would you treat your son in such a way?”

“I’m sure Mr Agreste has his reasons.” Marinette started off with defending her mentor. “But that still doesn’t make it right, or that it should go unaddressed.”

“You’re still planning on talking to Gabriel about the issue, aren’t you?” Duusu asked rhetorically.

“Adrien doesn’t know that I’m more than just an apprentice.” Marinette reasoned. “It’s not like he’d just take you back if I say he’s not spending enough time with his son. Right?”

“Considering that the Peacock Miraculous is now yours, I say it’s yours, and Gabriel is not a Guardian. No, he cannot just reclaim me for you speaking the truth.” Duusu said confidently.

“Good.” Marinette nodded. “Now, I’m going to take a shower.

She wasn’t going out again while smelling of deodorant-concealed sweat.

* * *

Freshly clean and in new clothes, Marinette set out from her home again despite how tired she was feeling.

“Marinette!” Luka called cheerfully from their usual meet-up spot, the same location as where they first met.

“Hi, Luka.” Marinette nearly skipped over to the older teen.

Like usual, Luka was playing his guitar, every bit the hipster teen, which only endeared him more to Marinette.

Sitting down next to Luka, the two talked, catching up on what had happened since they last saw each other and over events.

“You know, I’m sort of thinking of joining a dance class.” Marinette brought up.

Luka frowned in concern.

“Are you sure that you’re not putting too much on your plate?” He asked. “You do design work, commissions, your apprenticeship, and now dancing. I’m not saying you can’t do it, but…”

“I’m sure I can manage.” Marinette said. “If it becomes too much, I’ll quit. I just wanted to try to see what it’s like.”

Now that was a lie, but she couldn’t exactly say that a tiny magical god had convinced her apprenticeship teacher, who was also training her to be a superhero, to tell her to take dance classes.

“Okay.” Luka said. “Well, if you do stay with it, I’d love to see you dance someday.”

“Nah, I’m too clumsy.” Marinette remained insistent on being too clumsy for dance.

“You’ll learn. You’re amazing at everything.” Luka said, causing Marinette to blush.

“I-yeah-really-thanks.” Marinette stumbled over her words, causing Luka to laugh.

“Then, we can maybe perform a song and dance together.” Luka offered.

Marinette smiled, red still gracing her cheeks.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” She said.

Luka smiled back.

“Marinette, you are so extraordinary, you know that?” He said.

Marinette’s blush, which had been fading, returned in full force.

“You’re as clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. You’re the music that’s been playing inside my head since the first day we met.” Luka continued.

“L-Luka, what…what are you…are you saying that…?” Marinette struggled to compute.

“I’m saying that I like you very much, Marinette. More than just ‘like’ actually. And it would make me very happy if you were to accept going on a date with me.” Luka explained.

“I…you’re really…you-me…” Marinette’s brain completely short circuited and was struggling to reboot.

“Was I to straight-forward.” Luka worried.

His mother always told him that if he was to confess to a girl, to do it clearly, because women apparently appreciated men who knew their feelings. Luka felt that approach lacking, so mixed in his own flair while still being clear.

“Are you…are you serious?” Marinette asked once her brain finally came back online.

“Yes.” Luka said confidently. “I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I want to be honest with you.”

“I…” Marinette trailed off.

“We could take things slow.” Luka offered. “Maybe try out a date of a few before you make a decision. If you want, that is.”

“I’d…I’d like that.” Marinette felt a smile painfully stretch her cheeks.

“Then, how about we have our first date in a few days’ time?” Luka asked.

Marinette nodded.

“I’m…I’m going to go home now. I’ll see you for our…date.” Marinette felt so light as she spoke the word.

“I’ll message you then.” Luka waved as his possible future-girlfriend left.

…

“Ooh, it was so beautiful.” Duusu sang and danced around Marinette’s room as Marinette herself lay on her chaise. “Not the most romantic of confessions, but it was so pure.”

Marinette groaned and tried her best to block the Kwami out.

“I’m so happy for you, Marinette. You’re getting a mate who’s not afraid to show off their colours. What could be better for one of my peahens.”

Marinette groaned louder, hiding her face in on of her chaise cushions.

“Shut up.” Came her muffled complaint.

“But why? I should be allowed to celebrate my peahen gaining a mate.” Duusu argued.

“It’s only a date.” Marinette removed the cushion from her face. “It’s not anything official yet. We’ll go on a date, I’ll likely mess up by spilling my drink on him or by just making a fool of myself in general, then he’ll realise that he doesn’t actually want to date, then I’ll be left all alone because everyone will see that someone as amazing as Luka dumped me and they’ll know that I’m a lost cause, and-”

“Marinette, calm down.” Duusu interrupted Marinette’s tirade, suddenly serious in the face of her anxiety. “You will not mess things up. Luka asked you out on a date for a reason, he won’t abandon you if you mess up, which will not happen as long as you’re calm. Now, deep breaths.”

Marinette breathed in deeply and then let it out, repeating the process several times until she had calmed.

“Thanks, Duusu.” Marinette said.

It always helped to have a friend there when her mind got like that, someone to stop her train of thought before it crashed and burned.

“Now, how about you create an outfit or something.” Duusu directed his wielder to something that would keep her mind away from her anxiety.

“Right.” Marinette agreed, grabbing her sketchbook. “I know. I’ll create a new outfit for my first date with Luka.”

“That’s the spirit.” Duusu went back to cheering. “Spread your feathers and show Luka your own colours!”

Marinette groaned as she shoved her face into her sketchbook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Comment  
> I’ve decided that since I’ve already done the Adrien/Marinette romance in my Nymph story, I’d like to try a Luka/Marinette relationship for this rewrite. I’ll try to give Luka more personality and make him more interesting than in canon.  
> Readers of my original story will notice that I’ve changed the style of dance that Marinette learns to free-style instead of Chinese dance. I did it because freestyle seems to suit Marinette more, and she’s already barely linked to her Chinese side as it is. So, it’s probably be more of Marinette’s style to take what she learns and develop her own style of dancing that she can then integrate into her fighting.  
> And readers of my Nymph story will recognise Zoe, who I decided to reuse for the dance instructor character rather than make a new character. Zoe is older in this story than in Nymph, where she was still a teenager. And, for obvious reasons, there will be no relationship between Zoe and Chloe in this story like in Nymph.


	7. Room for one more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marc gets an upgrade in their role  
> Duusu has no filter  
> Adrien gets asked out on a date  
> And an Akuma is creepy

In current time Paris, every citizen knew to go about their lives with a level of caution.

Every citizen knew that, at any moment, an Akuma could attack and possibly cause a lot of damage, with a slight chance of anyone in the vicinity being mind controlled. It really depended on what exactly the Akumatised villain was upset about.

But even with this knowledge, it was still very easy to get caught up in an attack, like Marc currently was.

There he had been, just minding his own business on the way to school, only to find his way blocked by battle between heroes and villain. And because the universe felt like it hadn’t inconvenienced Marc enough, his way back had also become blocked off due to the fight, leaving him to take cover until the fight either moved elsewhere or the villain was defeated.

“Why me?” Marc complained, keeping his head ducked down as he tried his best to keep calm.

“Look out!”

At the call, Marc looked up in time to see a car flying towards him.

“Mother f-” Marc scrambled to get away even though he knew that he wouldn’t make it in time.

Just before the car could hit him, a figure dropped down between Marc and the car, knocking the vehicle further into the air so that it flew over them and crashed to the ground far behind Marc.

“Are you okay?”

A hand appeared in front of Marc’s face as he registered that he hadn’t been hit by the car.

“Uh, yeah. I…” Marc trailed off with his mouth hanging open as he finally looked up at his rescuer.

It was Kleos, in Rooster form.

The early morning sun was behind the hero, illuminating his form with a halo of light and shining through his styled red hair.

“Great.” Kleos pulled Marc to his feet. “Though, it’s not safe to be here. You should go.”

“I-I would.” Marc’s hand gravitated towards his arm as his social anxiety began to make its appearance in the presence of someone new. “But, well the…I can’t.”

“Oh.” Thankfully, Kleos caught onto the issue. “I better get you out of here then.”

The hero smiled at Marc, causing a funny feeling in the young teen’s stomach.

The without preamble, Kleos picked Marc up and jumped impossibly high with the teen still in his arms.

In only a couple of jumps they had escaped the disaster area, the hero placing Marc back on his feet and at least having the decency to make sure that the teen didn’t immediately fall over, since Marc felt rather dizzy now. And Marc wasn’t entirely sure that the dizziness was just because of the sudden jumping around.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I should have asked first.” Kleos said, only realising after the fact that Marc may have objected to being picked up and jumped around in such away.

“It’s fine.” Marc assured, still holding onto Kleos’ arms to steady himself.

Kleos smiled at Marc, amazed and proud at how well Marc was keeping it together, knowing that his friend likely wanted to just curl into a ball.

Spotting the temporary hero smiling down at him in such a way, Marc blushed slightly.

“So, uh, thanks, I guess. For taking me out-I mean, taking me away from the danger.” Marc fumbled over his words.

“You’re welcome.” Kleos continued smiling.

“Kleos!” Ladybird’s sharp voice interrupted the two. “I brought you in to help deal with the Akuma, not flirt with civilians.”

“Oh.” Kleos suddenly remembered that he was meant to be saving Paris. “Right. Sorry!” He called to his leader.

Ladybird rolled her eyes and swung back into the fray.

“Well, you better get to class.” Kleos said to Marc, pulling away.

With his trumpet in hand, Kleos ran back into the fight.

Marc stayed where he was for a moment before finally shaking his head and continuing on his way to school, taking a detour so that he would be less likely to get caught up in the fight again.

* * *

“…and then he asked to take me out on a date.” Marinette finished explaining the previous day’s events to her friends.

“Just like that?” Alya asked, impressed.

“Yep.” Marinette affirmed.

“How amazing.” Rose gushed.

“That seems like my brother.” Juleka said quietly.

She was slightly shocked, though not surprised.

Juleka knew that her brother had begun to develop feelings for Marinette that went deeper than friendship, but she hadn’t expected him to confess so soon.

“I’m sure that you and Luka will be great together, Marientte.” Adrien said, having heard the conversation.

Adrien wasn’t overly familiar with the older boy, only really knowing him from that time he played music with them before Ms Couffain became Captain Hardrock. But he got a nice enough impression of Luka from their limited interaction.

“Thanks.” Marinette smiled. “Though, it’s only one date. We’ll see if it becomes more than that after.”

She was still too unsure as to what her own feelings were to say for sure whether she and Luka would start dating proper. Marinette knew that she definitely liked Luka, just not if she liked him in _that_ way.

“I’m so happy for you, Marinette.” The saccharine-sweet voice made Marinette’s mood instantly sour as Lila inserted herself into the conversation. “Getting a boyfriend. I hope he’s handsome, like my boyfriends have been. Though, your new boyfriend wouldn’t have had to keep up his celebrity appearances like mine.”

Marinette side-eyed Lila in suspicion.

Even though Lila was using the occasion to lie about having celebrity boyfriends, the liar almost never complimented Marinette without it being backhanded in some way, never missing an opportunity to make Marinette feel down or deepen the wedge between their friends.

From Lila’s point of view, she was happy. Though, the Italian was happy for herself rather than Marinette. If Marinette had a boyfriend, that meant she had less competition for Adrien’s affections.

Though, that didn’t mean that she would miss an opportunity to make Marinette look bad.

“But are you sure that you want to be dating someone older than you? I remember hearing that it can be a bad sign of mental health to go after someone who’s not your own age.” Lila put on a façade of worry.

“She’s dating my brother. Marinette will be fine.” Juleka frowned, not liking that Lila had insinuated anything bad in relation to Luka.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s a great guy.” Lila quickly backpaddled, not wanting to damage her ‘pure and caring’ façade. “It was just something I read anyway. It could be made up.”

Deciding that she was done talking relationships, Marinette retreated to her seat, only just noticing that Nathaniel wasn’t in his seat yet.

Said boy made his appearance just after the bell rang, noticeably out of breath as he slumped down in his seat.

* * *

Marc sighed in relief after his class let out for lunch. Science with Ms Mendeleiev always left him feeling worn out, especially when she decided to be cruel and call on him for answers.

As he walked, Marc came across Alya and Marinette talking to his comic partner.

Well, Marinette was talking, Alya was more like interrogating.

“Come on, fess up. Something has to be going on with you.” Alya pointed a finger at Nathaniel. “You’re usually dead last in almost everything, sometimes you don’t even try. Then, today, you’re suddenly good enough you surpassed me like it was nothing. And I chase around Ladybird during Akuma attacks.”

It took a few seconds for Marc to realise what Alya was going on about, before the bags the other teens were carrying reminded him that Nathaniel’s class had been doing P.E. before lunch.

“Well, I’ve just taken up doing exercise, you know?” Nathaniel waved off, slightly freaked out by Alya’s intensity. “I decided to take a page from Marinette’s book and exercise to deal with creative stress.”

“Hmm.” Alya narrowed her eyes at Nathaniel.

“Is that why you were late this morning, Nathaniel?” Marinette asked her friend. “I noticed that you were a bit out of breath.”

“Uh, yes.” Nathaniel said quickly, not wanting to give away the real reason he’d been late for class, despite setting out from home early.

Alya snickered.

“I doubt it. You slept in, didn’t you?” She teased.

Marc didn’t really pay attention to the rest of the conversation, as he was too busy looking Nathaniel up and down.

Now that Alya had brought it up, Marc noticed that Nathaniel had recently developed a more athletic figure, though it was hard to fully tell under the boy’s clothes.

‘Maybe I could ask to join Nathaniel in his exercise.” Marc suggested to himself.

It would give him more time to spend with Nathaniel and be another thing for them to bond over.

Unfortunately, the idea of displaying how unathletic Marc was himself, as well as possibly making a fool of himself in front of Nathaniel, made the teen quickly bolt a lid on that idea.

Nathaniel finally spotted Marc, who had been just standing there, face lighting up as he saw his escape from Alya.

“Hey, Marc. Sorry I got held up.” Nathaniel went over to his comic partner. “Let’s go do the thing we’re meant to do, right now.”

Nathaniel didn’t give Marc time to respond as he marched them both away from Alya.

Back with Alya, Marinette shook her head.

“Does everything have to be an interrogation with you?” She asked her life. “You need to respect Nathaniel’s privacy.”

Alya raised an eyebrow.

“Says the girl who didn’t respect their privacy in order to get Nathaniel and Marc together.” She said.

“As comic partners.” Marinette stressed. “It was for the greater good in order for them to unlock their true potential. While nothing comes from you interrogating Nathaniel on why he’s fitter.”

“I don’t know, it certainly made Marc take interest.” Alya shrugged with a smile, having seen Marc look Nathaniel up and down.

“Really?” Marinette asked eagerly.

Alya gave Marinette a knowing look.

“I am not shipping them.” Marinette immediately denied.

“I never said anything.” Alya raised her hands in surrender while smiling smugly.

With nothing to say to defend herself, Marinette turned slightly red before turning around and walking off without another word while Alya laughed to herself.

* * *

“And drop.”

Marinette sighed in relief as she dropped the weight in her hand, being careful not to drop it near her toes, arms shaking from exhaustion.

“Your time has improved.” Gabriel noted.

At the beginning of Marinette’s training, she had barely been able to lift the weight for more than a few seconds, now she was able to hold it about her head for a minute.

“That will do for the weights. I don’t want you damaging your back.” Gabriel said.

“Why does Marinette even need to do weight training?” Duusu said, floating over to Marinette with a small towel. “The Miraculous will already give her enhanced strength.”

Silently, Marinette agreed with her Kwami as she took the small towel to mop up her sweat.

“The training contributes to Miss Dupain-Cheng’s training as a whole. Besides, I know from experience that there may come a time where a hero needs to fight without being able to use their magical transformation.” Gabriel explained with a dull look, having already explained this to Duusu before.

Duusu sighed. “You sound just like those old men from the temple.” He said.

Abruptly, Marinette remembered her conversation with Adrien.

Now was the perfect opportunity to bring the issue up, though at the same time she didn’t want to accuse her tutor of being neglectful right to his face. So, she quickly came up with an idea.

“Mr Agreste, perhaps we could start using training partners.” Marinette suggested. “I know Adrien does his own exercise activities, so perhaps we could combine.”

“No.” Gabriel immediately shot down, startling Marinette at his abruptness.

“He doesn’t have to know about the hero stuff.” Marinette tried to placate.

“No.” Gabriel repeated.

“Why not?” Marinette questioned.

Sure, it could create some questions as to why Gabriel was training Marinette in more than fashion design, but Marinette was sure an excuse could be made, and it would allow for Adrien to be able to spend more time with his father.

“Because I said.” Gabriel didn’t care to explain.

Marinette silently fumed at being shut down, wanting desperately to speak out but being kept quiet by the fact that Gabriel was still her superior.

Duusu, however, had no such concept keeping him from speaking up.

“You’re neglecting your son.” Duusu said, not pulling any punches.

“What? I am not.” Gabriel denied with a scowl.

“It sure seems that way.” Duusu wasn’t intimidated. “Adrien expressed to Marinette about how sad he feels that a classmate gets to spend more time with his father than he does.”

Marinette squeaked as Gabriel’s judgemental glare turned to her.

“Uh, it’s true.” She mustered up her courage and care for Adrien to confirm her Kwami’s words.

Gabriel paused, at a loss for words.

“This matter doesn’t concern either of you.” Gabriel eventually said with a glare. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, finish today’s training on your own, I need to be elsewhere.”

With that, Gabriel turned and left, unintentionally allowing Marinette to see exactly where the hidden passage between the gym and his office was located.

“Well, that went well.” Marinette said sarcastically once Gabriel was gone, still trying to calm her nerves.

“What happened to him while I was asleep?” Duusu questioned with deep worry.

“I don’t think he’d be very forthcoming with any information.” Marinette sighed.

Despite Gabriel training Marinette as his superhero successor, he remained extremely impersonal with her. So, it was highly unlikely that he’d share why he was the way he was with her.

“Anyway, I guess I better finish my training for my day.” Marinette said, starting to jog a circuit of the gym. “I wonder if other heroes have to train as hard as I do.” She wondered to herself.

* * *

Foils clashed, slid against each other and then parted in a single second, the action repeating many times.

The two fighters dodged and wove in and out of each other, trying their hardest to strike the other.

It finally ended when one managed to strike the other.

“Okay, I think we can call for a break.” Adrien said after bowing, pulling off his mask.

“Agreed.” Kagami said, pulling off her own mask.

Thankfully, it was just the two of them training together today, so no fencing instructor was going to complain about them wasting time.

The two walked over to a bench and drank from their water bottles.

“So,” Kagami said after her drink. “Have you done it?”

“Done what?” Adrien questioned.

“Spoken with your friend?” Kagami clarified.

It took a second for Adrien to discern the exact meaning of her words before remembering that he’d vented to her about the situation with his father and Marinette.

“Yeah.” Adrien sighed. “She agreed that it wasn’t fair to me.”

“I am…happy that you are communicating.” Kagami paused slightly for the correct word. “I would not abide by someone saying needlessly silent.”

“I am glad that Marinette knows.” Adrien admitted. “Though, now I’m worried that Marinette might risk her apprenticeship to confront my father, even though I told her not to.”

If Adrien’s friend really did do that, they would have Kagami’s respect, though she would also view them as stupid for not considering consequences well enough.

“If that happens, then the fault would not lie with you.” Kagami assured Adrien. “You told your friend not to say anything, and her choices are not your own.”

“I suppose.” Adrien said.

Even so, he knew that Marinette enough to know that she didn’t like injustices to just be ignored, and he would still feel guilty if she lost her apprenticeship.

“Anyway. I would like to ask you out on a date.” Kagami then said.

She said it so abruptly and without fanfare that it took Adrien a moment to compute what Kagami had just said.

“Uh, what?” Adrien blinked, wondering if he’d misheard.

Kagami frowned slightly at having to repeat herself.

“I would like to ask you out on a date.” She repeated.

“Do…do you mean like a platonic date, or a…” Adrien stumbled.

Given Kagami’s straight-forward delivery, and the fact that she was even less socially developed as Adrien was, he really didn’t want to take the offer the wrong way if Kagami was using her terminology wrong.

“A romantic date.” Kagami said simply. “Is that not what is usually implied when asking someone out on a date?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, it is. I just didn’t want to get things wrong.” Adrien said. “You want to go out on a date with me?”

“I don’t understand your confusion. You are attractive, skilled and popular, you should hardly be a stranger to date proposals.” Kagami lifted and eyebrow.

She was right there. Anytime his father had him attend social gatherings, there would be at least one person suggesting a match up, and he’d gotten many more after finally being allowed to go to school.

“I’m not. I just didn’t realise that you felt that way about me.” Adrien said.

“Well, I do.” Kagami said. “So?”

“‘So’ what?” Adrien asked dumbly.

“What’s your answer?”

“Oh. Um…” Adrien looked around the training grounds as if it would provide an answer for him.

He had no idea what to do.

Did he feel the same way towards Kagami? He certainly liked her, but did he like her in _that_ way?

But Adrien couldn’t just turn her down. Kagami wasn’t someone he only vaguely new from his father’s social events or a nameless fan, she was someone who he didn’t want the feelings of by rejecting her. Especially when he could like Kagami in _that_ way, if he had time to sort out and recognise his feelings.

Kagami took notice of Adrien’s extended silence as he tried to sort his brain out.

“I see.” She said, taking his silence as rejection. “I hope that we can continue our training together then.”

Kagami got up to leave.

Adrien’s brain jumped to decision at the idea of Kagami leaving hurt from what she believe was rejection.

“I’d love to.” The words were out of Adrien’s mouth before he could think.

Kagami stopped and turned, allowing Adrien to see the hint of a smile on her face.

“Good.” Kagami said. “Considering both of our current schedules, we will not be able to have our date today. Do you have an available time?”

“Uh, I…” Adrien had memorised his schedule enough to know his free time, though that was liable to change via Akuma attack, or other unforeseen events shuffling his schedule. “I’ll have to check.” Adrien gave a white lie.

It would give him some time to work things out if he didn’t have a deadline for his first date.

“That’s fine.” Kagami accepted. “We have each other’s phone number. So, message me when you know.”

With that, she left, their training session apparently over.

Plagg let out a whistle of appreciation as soon as she was gone, appearing from Adrien’s bag.

“You can certainly attract the ladies, kid.” The Kwami grinned.

Adrien just groaned.

…

Back in his civilian clothes, Adrien walked outside to see if his bodyguard had arrived with the car yet.

The training session had ended earlier than Adrien had told him it would, but the Gorilla usually waiting around for him anyway, as long as he wasn’t needed elsewhere.

To Adrien’s surprise, he spotted Luka leaning against a wall with his bike, the older boy’s eyes closed.

“Hi, Luka.” Adrien went over to the older boy.

Luka opened his eyes, blinking a few times before focusing on Adrien.

“Oh, hey.” Luka said, waving.

“Are you alright?” Adrien asked.

Luka was reminding Adrien of himself after a day of modelling.

“I’m fine.” Luka said. “I’m just taking a break before getting back to my deliveries.”

The older boy motioned over to the parcels in his bike basket.

“So, are _you_ alright?” Luka turned the question back on Adrien, having noticed how unsure the teen looked.

“Ah, well.” Adrien said.

Then, it occurred to Adrien that Luka was now dating Marinette, and that he could perhaps give some advice regarding Kagami.

“Luka, this may be a bit personal, but how did you confess to Marinette?” Adrien asked.

Luka looked surprised at the question.

“I told her of my honest feelings and then asked her out.” Luka explained.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Luka affirmed. “Is there someone that you’re trying to ask out.”

“The opposite, actually.” Adrien laughed.

“You got asked out?” Luka guessed.

Adrien nodded.

“And you don’t like them?”

“That’s…I…I don’t know.” Adrien said. “I don’t know but I accepted anyway because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. And now I don’t know what to do.”

Luka rubbed his chin in thought.

“Then maybe try going on the date.” He suggested.

“But I still don’t know if I even like her enough to date her.” Adrien argued.

“So? What do you think a date is for?” Luka asked. “When I asked Marinette out, she looked unclear about her feelings, just as you are. So, we agreed on some tester dates to help work out if we really feel that way about each other.”

“Oh.” Adrien said.

Luka was making it sound much easier than it seemed to Adrien.

“So, I go on a date with her anyway?” He asked.

Luka shrugged.

“If you’re uncomfortable about it, maybe not. But a date could help you sort things out. And if you decide that you don’t like this girl afterwards, just tell her.” Luka advised.

“You make it all sound so easy.” Adrien moaned.

“Isn’t it?” Luka questioned.

As someone who was generally calm and in tune with his emotions, the subject of romance was a much less complicated subject for Luka when compared to other teens.

Adrien sighed again.

Then he heard the beep of a horn, signalling the arrival of his bodyguard.

“Thanks for the help, Luka.” Adrien said, turning and leaving.

“Anytime!” Luka called after him.

Looking at his watch, Luka then hopped back on his bike to resume his deliveries.

Sliding into the limo, Adrien huffed, mulling over his conversation with Luka.

“I guess that I should go on the date then.” Adrien said to himself. “Hopefully things will become clear then.”

* * *

His name was Damien, but most people knew him as ‘that creepy doll kid’, or ‘that disabled kid with no friend’, or a mixture of the two.

Maybe it was because he didn’t walk the same way as other children, wobbling around on a prosthetic leg instead of two stable feet. Or maybe it was because he preferred to keep to himself and play quietly, rather than be loud and outgoing like the other boys.

Or, perhaps, it was because of his enjoyment of making dolls to be his friends, though that had only come due to the lack of people wanting to be his friend in the first place. But no matter the cause, the other children found his hobby creepy and weren’t shy about letting that fact be known.

For the most part people just stayed away, but others decided that they needed to drill home the point that he was a creepy kid with no friends, these people made him sad and angry but he did his best to ignore them.

Today, Damien sat in the park, watching the other people play and looking for inspiration for the look of his next doll and sketching them in his book. Basing his dolls off of the people around him added a sense of realness to them for Damien.

“Hey look, it’s the freak!” Damien heard.

He recognised the voice as Terry, the guy who liked to pick on him the most.

Damien tried to ignore them and continue drawing.

“I’m talking to you, r****d.” Terry said.

Damien clutched his pencil in a hard grip, he absolutely hated being called that, he had been called that name all throughout his life just because he thought and acted differently to how other people expected him to.

Damien looked up at Terry and his friends, fury clear on his face.

Damien had always been told by his parents and teachers alike to just ignore the bullies and they’d go away, but that wasn’t true of Terry and his friends, and it was very hard for Damien to ignore them.

“Oh no!” Terry said in mock fear. “Creepy kid is angry with me. I wonder what he’ll do.”

Terry and his friends laughed.

No one but his parents and the teachers called Damien by his real name anymore, it was always some form of insulting name instead, even from those who didn’t bother him called him ‘Creepy kid’ or some other name because that’s what he was most known as.

Before Damien could stop him, one of Terry’s friends had snatched up his sketch book and was roughly leafing through it.

“What a creeper.” The boy said, handing the book to Terry. “He’s been drawing people as dolls.”

Damien tried to take his book back but he couldn’t do much with his prosthetic slowing him down, the thing beat up and no longer fit properly, which caused him difficulty in moving.

“You really do have a sad little life.” Terry mocked, turning to the page he had been drawing on, he recognised the person on the page as someone standing not far away. “I wonder if that girl would like to see your drawing of her.”

“No!” Damien cried.

“She’d probably call you a stalker and call the police. But don’t worry, I’m not going to share this with anyone. In fact, I’ll do you a favour.” Terry said with a mean grin.

“What?” Damien asked cautiously.

“Yeah, I’ll make sure no one can see your creepy little drawings. Tear it up.”

Terry tossed the book to his friends and they proceeded to rip the pages out and tear the pages up.

“No! Stop!” Damien cried out at his work being destroyed.

He tried to grab his book but was pushed down to the ground.

“Stay where you belong, freak.” One of Terry’s friends said.

Soon, all of the pages lay in torn pieces on the ground, Terry and his gang laughing as they walked off.

“We’ve done you a favour.” Terry laughed as he walked away. “Maybe if you dropped your creepy hobby and acted like a real boy, you could get some real friends. Though I doubt it.”

Damien sobbed at seeing his work destroyed, all of the designs he had yet to make, gone. Not even salvageable.

With great effort, Damien got up and hobbled back home. In his room he cried even harder at the unfairness of the world.

He looked at the dolls he had made, each one made to be his friend in place of those who shunned him.

“Friend? Who needs friends when I have all of you?” Damien said to his dolls. “You don’t hurt me. You don’t call me names.” He then frowned. “But you aren’t there to comfort me either, you just sit there with the smiles I gave you. You’re all useless, just like me.” He started crying.

As Damien cried he didn’t even notice the Akuma fly into his room until it landed on his shoulder bag and was absorbed into it.

“Doll Maker.” Iris spoke to Damien as a glowing mask appeared in front of his face. “I am Iris, and I will be your friend.”

“Really?” Damien questioned as his crying slowed.

“Of course. And as your friend, I will give you the power to create all the friends you could possibly want. But in return, you need to take down Ladybird and Chat Noir for me. It’s only fair that friends do things for each other, after all.”

“Anything for a friend.” Damien said as a black, bubbling mass overtook him.

* * *

The usual suspects were gathered in the art room, using the time to work of their crafts or just talking with each other.

Rose and Juleka, for example, were helping Marinette go over her designs for a date outfit. Some designs, Marinette had already made and were hanging up in her room, others Marinette had yet to make but wouldn’t take more than a day to make.

“It’s too bad Alya isn’t here to help.” Rose commented as she looked down at one of Marinette designs.

“Unfortunately, Alya’s mum is having to pull double shifts at the hotel, meaning Alya’s stuck with babysitting duty more often.” Marinette explained.

“Let me guess, it’s because of the little princess’ birthday?” Alix rolled her eyes as she tried to decide which colour to use next.

“Why Alix, however did you guess?” Marinette deadpanned sarcastically.

The girls laughed.

“Chloe’s been so insufferable with her birthday so close, even more than usual. I didn’t even think that was possible.” Alix groaned. “I heard that she was demanding that Mr Damocles shut down the school for the day, like her birthday is a bank holiday or something.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true.” Marinette said.

Given how many times Chloe would call her daddy, or at least threaten to, to force Mr Damocles to do what she wanted, it really wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to believe that Chloe would demand that the school be shut so that her ‘big day’ wasn’t ruined by lessons.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel, Marc and Casey were gathered together at a table.

Casey, for once, didn’t have a book in her hand, instead doodling on a sheet of paper as she interacted with the two comic partners.

“So, you’re pansexual?” Casey asked Nathaniel.

Nathaniel shrugged. “Maybe.” He said unsurely. “I mean, I don’t think Bisexual fits me, but I don’t think I’ve been attracted to enough people to judge whether Pan is right either. It seems a bit…broad.”

“There are a lot of sub-groups to consider.” Marc told them. “It can get really confusing. I know it was for me.”

It had taken him a while to find that Gender-Fluid was an option, that he didn’t need to be ‘just male’ or ‘just female’, and that to be neither was an option as well.

“There are Lesbian sub-groups as well.” Marc added, speaking to Casey.

“Maybe that would explain things.” Casey sighed. “Since I haven’t met a girl where I’ve went ‘I’d tap that’ yet.”

Both Nathaniel and Marc snorted at Casey’s comment.

Perhaps it was the way the girl talked, but it was always unusual to hear something crude come past her lips.

“Are you sure that you’re Lesbian?” Nathaniel asked.

“Well, what else would I be?” Casey shrugged. “I know for certain I don’t like boys at all. But I don’t think I’m all that attracted to girls either.”

Marc hummed. “Maybe you’re Asexual?” He suggested.

“I’m not a plant.” Casey frowned.

Marc shrank slightly under her frown.

“No, Asexual is an orientation.” Marc explained. “It means that you’re not attracted to anyone.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve heard of that.” Nathaniel said.

“That’s an option?” Casey asked. “I can just not want anyone?”

“Well, yeah.” Marc said.

It had been easy for Marc to accept. Afterall, if there was an option to not identify as a gender, then there’d be an option to not identity as a sexual orientation.

“There’s a lot to it though. Aromanticism, different levels of non-attraction and all that sort of stuff.” Marc explained further.

“Huh.” Casey said. “It’s strange. Everyone always acts like you _have_ to be with someone.”

Marc shrugged.

“Most people to experience attraction, so it does seem weird to be without it.” He said.

“It does seem like a strange idea.” Nathaniel agreed.

He wondered how much easier Casey’s life was if she really was Asexual, never having to put up with the awkward feeling that came from interacting someone you were crushing on.

“So, you both experience attraction then?” Casey asked the comic partners.

They nodded.

“Does that mean you’re dating? Do you kiss?” Casey asked with absolutely no tact.

Nathaniel and Marc both turned red at her words.

“I…that’s…well…” Marc stuttered, turning to look at Nathaniel, who was looking right back at him. “I…I don’t really…I mean.”

Marc suddenly shot up from his seat and scrambled out the door, leaving behind his stuff.

“Marc?” Nathaniel hastily gathered up their stuff and chased after the teen.

Everyone in the room stared out the door the comic partners had just left through.

“Oops.” Casey said, though she didn’t understand why what she said had caused Marc to run off like that.

From the hood of Casey’s jacket, a red Kwami shook her head.

* * *

It didn’t take Nathaniel long to find and catch up to Marc.

“Are you alright?” Nathaniel asked his comic partner.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Marc mumbled.

“Sorry about Casey, you know she can be…”

“Tactless.” Marc finished Nathaniel’s sentence.

“Yeah, that.” Nathaniel said.

Nathaniel then looked at Marc, who was fiddling with his sleeve.

“So, are you not ready for our relationship to be out in the open yet?” He asked.

“It’s-it’s not that. I’m not ashamed. I mean, everyone in the art clubs knows that I’m genderfluid, so I know that they won’t think of us any differently. I…just don’t want any attention on us.” Marc explained.

“Ah.” Nathaniel nodded in understanding.

Considering how crazy Marinette had gotten in trying to make them comic partners, and how crazy the rest of the ‘girl squad’ could get over relationships, a reveal of their relationship was guaranteed to cause at least some fuss, which Marc wouldn’t like.

“I guess that we can just do couple stuff and wait for everyone else to catch on.” Nathaniel proposed.

Marc hummed. “I suppose, but someone could still make a big deal of it when they find out.”

Nathaniel shrugged, they were in a Catch 22 situation with Marc’s social anxiety.

Then the screaming started.

Not being stupid, both Nathaniel and Marc started running in the opposite direction of the screams, as screams had a good chance of being accompanied by an Akuma attack.

“Another so soon?” Nathaniel groaned. “Has Iris not got anything better to do?”

“She makes people into villains against their will, I think she lacks a social life.” Marc remarked.

Unfortunately, in their attempts to run away from the possible-Akuma attack, they ended up running right into the Akumatised villain due to the spread of the villainous forces.

“Well, that’s a contender for the list.” Nathaniel said under his breath.

Said ‘list’ referred to the ‘Top 10 most horrifying Akumatised Villains’, which was hosted on the Ladyblog.

And this new villain looked set to take the Number 1 spot.

Pale white skin, glowing yellow eyes that were hidden behind tangled grey hair, patchworked clothes, a metal leg that was little more than a metal pole attacked to a metal foot, and a very long clawed metal hand.

Following behind the villain was a growing army of human-sized dolls of varying types, from rag to porcelain, all with button eyes.

“New friends!” The Akumatised villain said upon seeing them.

“Time to go.” Marc said, turning to run another way.

“Ah!”

Marc stopped running at the sound of Nathaniel’s cry, turning to see his boyfriend being dragged towards the villain with strings that were sprouting from his claws.

“Run!” Nathaniel shouted, fighting futilely against the strings.

Marc began backing away, but couldn’t turn his eyes away from Nathaniel as the strings began to have an effect on him, the red-head’s skin turning to fabric.

“Marc! Run!” Nathaniel shouted again before his lips were sealed shut by the transformation.

Reluctantly and with tears in his eyes, Marc ran, dodging the army of dolls as they chased after him.

Behind him, the villain placed buttons over Nathaniel’s eyes and the teen stopped struggling, falling into line with all the other dolls.

* * *

“Well, I’ve just seen my nightmares for the next week.” Chat Noir whistled as he pushed away some dolls with his staff.

“Is there seriously no limit to the Butterfly Miraculous?” Ladybird complained as she used her yoyo to trip several dolls at once. “Granting someone the ability to not only dollify other people, but also control those dolls, on mass. I’s ridiculous.”

“Someone sounds jealous.”

Both Chat Noir and Ladybird groaned, visibly drooping, as Iris made her appearance.

“You know, this fight was going pretty well until now.” Ladybird commented, glaring up at where Iris stood above them. “Now my will to care is once again tested.”

The villainess would always position herself above her heroes as much as she could, trying to make herself seem taller and in a higher position.

“Aw. You’re not happy to see me?” Iris gave a fake pout. “And I went through such effort to bring along so many friends for you to meet.”

“Call it a hunch, but I don’t think we’ll get along with your ‘friends’.” Chat Noir said, dodging more dolls.

“Oh, you just need to get to know them more intimately, then you’d fit right in.” Iris grinned.

Chat Noir’s eyes widened when he spotted something coming from behind Ladybird.

“Ladybird, look out!” Grabbing his partner by the arm, Chat Noir pulled her out of the way while using his staff to block some string that had been coming from her.

“Thanks, Chat.” Ladybird said as the heroes looked at the new arrival.

“I take it back, that is my nightmares for the next week.” Chat Noir quipped, finding the actual Akumatised villain much creepier than his minions.

The Akumatised villain scowled at the comment from behind a stitched mouth.

“This is Doll Maker, my dear friend.” Iris introduced.

“You’ve been hurting my new friend.” Doll Maker growled. “I’m going to make sure you can’t anymore.”

Ladybird sighed heavily, wishing that she could just retire to her room already.

“Usual plan for a minionised army?” Chat Noir asked her quietly.

“Yeah.” Ladybird said, swinging her yoyo and launching it. “I’ll work on keeping Iris busy, you divide them up.”

“You got it.” Chat Noir said, launching away on his stick while Ladybird swung towards Iris.

…

_(Later)_

“Lucky Charm!”

Ladybird raised an eyebrow as a gong fell into her hand.

“I know that look. You need to fetch Kleos, don’t you?” Chat Noir said, wrapping his arm up in bubble wrap and tape.

Doll Maker had managed to latch onto Chat Noir with the ropes from his claw during their fight, turning the hero’s body into porcelain where they touched.

Thankfully, Ladybird had managed to get him free before Chat Noir could be fully dollified and controlled. But that didn’t change the fact that Chat Noir was now incredibly fragile, since his body had started to crack when he attempted to continue the fight. Leading the heroes to have to temporarily retreat.

“I don’t know why I bother with the Lucky Charm, I’m starting to predict when it’ll tell me to get back-up.” Ladybird confirmed.

“Well, I need to finish making myself transport safe.” Chat Noir said. “And I think I’m hidden enough for now.”

“Right.” Ladybird said. “And just run if you’re found, at least until I get back with Kleos.”

“No need to worry about me, Little Lady. I’m aware of the concept of handle with care.” Chat Noir replied.

Ladybird rolled her eyes at the nickname her partner used for her, one he knew annoyed her and so used to express his own annoyance towards her.

“I’ll be back soon.” Ladybird said, swinging off.

…

Ladybird bounced on her feet and gripped the box in her hand tightly as she looked around, searching everywhere for familiar red hair.

“Where is he?” Ladybird questioned loudly to herself.

She had always managed to track him down rather quickly in all the previous times, no matter where he was, yet she suddenly couldn’t find him.

“Ahh!”

Ladybird was distracted from her search by a scream, spotting a civilian running from a group of dolls.

Sighing in frustration, Ladybird temporarily abandoned her search to swoop down an save the civilian, only recognising him as Marc once she got close, grabbing him and carrying them to the safety of a roof.

“Th-thank you, Ladybird.” Marc said, trying to calm himself now that he was relatively safe.

“Don’t mention it.” Ladybird said. “Say, uh, where’s N-I mean, did you have anyone with you?” The heroine fished to see if Marc knew where her go-to hero was.

“Yeah, I did.” Marc said, looking ashamed for some reason. “My…friend, Nathaniel. But he got caught and turned into one of those dolls.”

Ladybird’s eyes widened.

“Damn it!” She cursed under her breath.

She had been extremely aware that Nathaniel could be one of the dolls patrolling the streets but had just been hoping that he’d managed to hide away from Doll Maker.

“Now what do I do?” Ladybird questioned herself, feeling slightly helpless.

Her only option for an extra hero was gone.

Who else was there that she could trust with a Miraculous?

“Uh, Ladybird, are you alright?” Marc interrupted the heroine’s thoughts.

Ladybird blinked and then turned to Marc, as if only just becoming aware of his presence.

Perhaps she wasn’t as out of options as she thought.

“Marc, uhh…” Ladybird rolled her hand, trying to recall what the teen’s last name was.

“…Anciel.” Marc hesitantly gave his last name.

“Anciel. Right.” Ladybird coughed into her hand, standing up straight. “What would you do, if I asked you for help against Iris and Doll Maker?”

Marc startled slightly at the question.

“Well, if you really needed my help, I guess I could help out in any way that I can.” He answered unsurely, not knowing how he of all people could help in any significant way.

“And if you had powers, like I have, what would you do with them?” Ladybird questioned further.

“I…” Marc paused to think. “I don’t know if I’d have the courage to face the villains like you do, but I like to think that I would help you against Iris and her Akumas.” He answered honestly.

Ladybird hummed, not sure what to make of Marc’s answer.

However, she didn’t have the time to think over the nuances of Marc’s words. He was nice enough from her interactions with him, he had said he would fight against the villains, and that was all that mattered for now.

“Then, Marc Anciel.” Ladybird presented the box in her hand to the teen. “This is the Goat Miraculous, which holds the ability to reduce the energy of your opponents. You will use it to help Chat Noir and I against Iris and Doll Maker, then return it to me after the battle.”

Marc’s eyes went wide as he looked down at the box, at a loss for words.

As if on their own, his hands went up to take the box from Ladybird, opening it.

A glowing light from the box caused Marc to shield his eyes, and when a flying creature appeared once the light had receded.

“Yay, I get to play today.” The creature cheered, clapping it hands.

At least Marc thought they were hands, they looked more like nubs.

“Though, he does look like how the others described him.” The creature put a nub to its mouth.

“That’s because there’s been a change of plan.” Ladybird told the creature. “This is Marc, our newest hero.”

The creature bleated happily.

“I get to be the first Kwami for the new hero. Great!” It said.

Finally finding his voice, Marc turned to Ladybird.

“Are you sure that you want to choose me. I-I don’t know if I’ll make a good hero. I’ll probably just get in the way.” He said.

“Yes.” Ladybird offered simply.

She decided that being honest and saying that Marc was currently her only option probably wouldn’t do anything to convince the teen.

“Don’t worry, I can tell you’ll be great.” The Kwami assured. “You just need a kick start to show your stuff.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” Marc accepted.

“Great!” The Kwami cheered again. “Then put on the Miraculous and just say, ‘Ziggy, Change Ahead’.”

Looking back into the box, Marc picked out a pair of horn-shaped hair clips, sliding them into his hair.

“Ziggy, Charge Ahead!”

It was a shock to go through the superhero transformation, the feeling of a tight bodysuit replacing his clothes, something heavy appearing in his hand, and suddenly feeling like he could run to school a hundred times over without breaking a sweat.

“This is so weird.” Marc said to himself once the transformation was complete, looking himself over.

Looking at the weight in his hands, Marc raised an eyebrow when he found himself holding a goat’s head on a stick. It took a second for the new hero to realise that his hero-weapon was a hobby horse with a different animal head.

“Why do you and I have toys for weapons?” Marc asked Ladybird.

Ladybird shrugged.

“I don’t know, but we can’t argue their effectiveness.” She said.

As if to prove her point, Ladybird spun her yoyo and threw it, latching onto something for a swing.

“Come on, then.” She said, swinging away.

Taking a deep breath to centre himself, Marc attached his hobby goat to his back, magic or something keeping it there, and ran off after Ladybird.

By the time Marc had realised that the gaps between buildings were too big for him to usually jump, he was already leaping across them, gasping in amazement as he easily leapt over the gap.

“Nathaniel would be so jealous if he knew that I was an actual hero now.” Marc said to himself as he continued to follow after Ladybird.

…

“Come on, little kitty, you can’t keep away forever in your condition.” Iris taunted as she and her Akuma chased Chat Noir.

The villains had unfortunately found him, since Ladybird was taking an unusually long time to find and bring Kleos.

“If you stop, I can fix you.” Doll Maker offered. “I know how to fix all my dolls.”

Chat Noir shivered at the words.

“Because that doesn’t sound creepy at all.” He said.

“I am not creepy!” The comment seemed to set Doll Maker off, making the villain more vicious in his attacks.

“Oh dear, it seems you’ve upset my dear friend.” Iris said with fake worry. “Why don’t you come back here and apologise properly?”

Iris then made her own go at Chat Noir, forcing him to have to defend himself with his staff.

Unfortunately, due to not wanting to do anything too risky in his fragile state, as well as his reduced agility from all the bubble wrap and tape he’s wrapped around himself, Iris was able to disarm Chat Noir and knock him down.

“It was so nice of you to gift wrap your end for me.” Iris grinned victoriously as she raised her weapon.

Thankfully, Chat Noir was saved by a familiar yoyo wrapping around Iris’ wrists and yanking her away from him and sending her flying into Doll Maker.

“Chat, are you alright?” Ladybird ran to her partner’s side, helping him to stand.

“I think I have a few more cracks, but nothing that some glue won’t fix.” Chat Noir said. “Where’s Kleos.”

“Dollified.” Ladybird reported.

“Oh,” Iris laughed as the dolls pulled her off Doll Maker and set her on the ground. “Is that little pest out of the picture. How unfortunate for you.” She grinned. “And how lucky for me.”

Thankfully, an upside to so many people having been dollified was that Kleos wasn’t in much risk of his identity being found out from Iris knowing that information.

“So, back-up is a bust. What now?” Chat Noir asked his partner, warily eying all the dolls advancing on them.

Ladybird smiled assuring at him.

“Lucky Charm!”

Red and black spotted scissors fell into the heroine’s hand.

“Hmm.” Ladybird opened and closed the scissors, eying Doll Maker’s bag.

“You’re not getting past my army.” Iris gloated, already seeing what Ladybird was wanting to do with the scissors. “Give up.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Ladybird said, twirling the scissors with her finger. “Afterall, I never said that I failed to bring back-up.”

Iris gasped, realising that she didn’t have as much of an upper hand as she thought.

“Sleep Song!”

What sounded like a drawn out animal cry vibrated across the street.

Iris squinted as she suddenly felt herself become drained of her energy, having to fight to remain standing.

And all around the villain, dolls fell to the ground, some slumping while others seemed to be outright unconscious. Soon, only Iris and Doll Maker were left standing, and Doll Maker was similarly drained to Iris.

“I wanna go to bed.” Doll Maker slurred.

“Now!” Ladybird shouted, shooting forward.

Chat Noir was quick to follow after his partner, the two easily weaving their way through the dolls, who barely lifted their hands to try and stop them.

“No.” Fighting the sudden fatigue she was experiencing, Iris moved to intercept them, only to find herself intercepted by a figure in black and white.

Still fighting the fatigue, Iris almost fell on her butt as she was pushed away. She then growled at the newcomer.

“You’re not Kleos.” Iris noted, looking at the new hero’s black hair.

“Astute observation.” The new hero said, holding a hobby horse with a goat’s head defensively in front of himself.

“So, Ladybird finally picked a new hero.” Iris said, bringing up her cane. “I guess this means that she gave up on Kleos.”

Of course, Iris knew that Kelos was dollified from Ladybird herself, but she wanted to try and manipulate the situation.

“So, that will probably mean that Ladybird will drop you like hot garbage as well, once she finds another new hero.” Iris said.

“Yeah. So what if she does?” The new hero bit back.

“Don’t you enjoy having a Miraculous?” Iris tempted. “A Miraculous that Ladybird will just take away from you if you continue working for her.”

“I already knew the terms before I accepted. There’s no way that I’m turning to your side.” The hero raised an eyebrow, not falling for Iris’ manipulations.

“Ugh.” Iris sneered. “You’re all so sickening.”

While the two fought, Ladybird and Chat Noir faced off against Doll Maker, who was still able to attack despite the energy drain, sending out his strings to stop them from getting close.

“Ah!” Ladybird cried out as the strings latched onto her arm, replacing her suit and skin with calico fabric.

“Cataclysm!”

Chat Noir grabbed all the strings within his destructive grasp, making them crumble away, much to Doll Maker’s horror.

“Are you alright?” Chat Noir asked his partner.

“Yeah, he only got my arm.” Ladybird said, wrinkling her nose at how her arm crumpled when she squeezed it.

Doll Maker growled and tried to send out his strings, only for nothing to happen, Chat Noir’s Cataclysm having completely destroyed them.

“Wow, I wish I’d sewn to do that sooner.” Chat Noir grinned.

“Ugh.” Ladybird said at the bad pun.

She punched him with her dollified arm, the stuffed fabric providing zero effect against the bubble wrapped porcelain.

“Let’s just end this.” Ladybird said.

The two dove at the Akumatised villain, weaving away from his still dangerous claw. And while Chat Noir used his staff to keep the claw raised, Ladybird ducked underneath and used her scissors to cut the strap of the bag, grabbing it and rolling away before Doll Maker could bring his claw down on her.

“No!” Doll Maker cried out.

With both hands, Ladybird tore apart the bag with the advanced strength her Miraculous granted her, freeing the Akuma inside.

“You were an annoying one.” Ladybird said to the Akuma as she caught it in her yoyo.

A back bubbling mass washed over Doll Maker as he turned back into a normal person.

Seeing that her Akuma was defeated, Iris decided to cut her losses rather than attempt to take on all three heroes.

Kicking the new hero away, Iris turned and fled, holding her flute up to her lips as she ran.

“Mirage!”

A sudden snowstorm appeared, obscuring her escape as the new hero attempted to give chase.

Instinctively, he shielded his eyes against the snow, only to remember it was all an illusion when he felt nothing hit him.

“Let her go. None of us have the timer to chase her.” Ladybird sighed, swinging her yoyo around to clear the fake blizzard.

Pulling the yoyo back into her palm, Ladybird tapped the top to allow the cleansed butterfly out.

“Miraculous Ladybird!” The heroine then threw her scissors into the air, where they burst into millions of glowing ladybugs that washed over the dolls, turning them back into regular people.

The new hero’s eyes widened as he realised that one of the dolls near him had in fact been Nathaniel.

“Hey,” He went over to the teen, helping him to his feet. “You’re alright now.”

“Thanks.” Nathaniel said, looking at the hero. “Oh.”

Nathaniel felt something funny in his stomach as the new hero smiled at him.

“Uh, I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” He said.

“Well, I haven’t been. I mean, I haven’t been as a hero.” The new hero gave a stumbled explanation.

“So, you got a name?” Nathaniel asked. “Alya will kill me if I don’t get one for her.”

“Uhh…” The new hero trailed.

He hadn’t actually thought of a name yet.

“It’s, um, it’s, uh…” He tried desperately to come up with a name, anxiety starting to rear its head now that the adrenaline of the fight was draining. “Púca!” The name suddenly came to him. “My name is Púca.” He restated more confidently.

“Púca.” Nathaniel repeated with a smile. “Well, I hope I can see you around more, Púca.”

The newly named Púca smiled. “Thanks. I hope to be around more too.”

“Come on.” Ladybird appeared behind Púca and grabbed the hero by the back of his costume and dragging him away. “Remember that you have a timer that’s going down.”

“Bye!” Nathaniel called after them.

Sighing, Nathaniel looked around as all the other civilians who had been caught up in the attack started heading home.

“So, she finally found another person.” Nathaniel said to himself happily.

He was glad that Ladybird had seemingly taken his advice.

Though, another temp’ hero meant that Nathaniel would be called on half as much to help Ladybird and Chat Noir, which was a little sad.

“I wonder if Ladybird will call on both of us at once.” Nathaniel muttered to himself.

“Hey, Nathaniel!” A voice called to the teen just as he prepared to leave.

Turning around, Nathaniel saw Chat Noir walking up to him with the original Akuma victim.

“I’m about to time out, do you mind walking our friend here back home.” The hero asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Nathaniel agreed before he could really think it over.

“Thanks.” Chat Noir quickly ran off, his ring beeping on its last pad.

“So…” Nathaniel said awkwardly. “Which way to your house?”

The kid looked at him silently before starting off in a direction, leaving Nathaniel to follow him.

“What’s you’re name.” Nathaniel tried to make small talk with the boy.

“Damien.” The boy mumbled, Nathaniel barely able to make him out.

“Damien, right.” Nathaniel said.

Then continued walking.

“You don’t have to see me home.” Damien eventually spoke up.

“Chat Noir charged me with getting you home, and I’m not going to dismiss a hero asking me to do something.” Nathaniel said. “Plus, I’ve been Akumatised before. It’s nice to have someone there after suddenly finding yourself somewhere else. And, in my case, an entire day having gone by without you.”

“Which Akuma were you?” Damien asked.

“Evillustrator.” Nathaniel answered.

Some people were sensitive about their Akumatised selves. But Nathaniel had come to view his Akumatisation with a sense of detachment since becoming a hero himself.

“I don’t think I’ve heard of that one.” Damien said.

“I’m not surprised, I wasn’t one of the showy villains who ran around making noise, or-”

“Enslaving people.” Damien finished Nathaniel’s sentence for him.

“Yeah.” Nathaniel said, going back to the awkward silence. “Honestly, getting Akumatised was sort of my own fault.” He then opened up. “I was drawing in class, which the teacher sent me to the headmaster for, then I let myself get worked up by Chloe Bourgeois of all people, because she made fun of my crush at the time.”

“You got sent to the headmaster for drawing in class?” Damien frowned.

Nathaniel laughed. “Yeah. My college seems to have an issue with the teachers sending students to the headmaster way too often. The teachers just don’t like dealing with issues by themselves.” He said.

“Yeah, my teachers don’t like dealing with issues either.” Damien said. “All they ever seem to do is tell me to ignore it and it’ll go away.”

“Ugh, that’s a painfully familiar sentiment.” Nathaniel groaned. “So, you’re bullied then?”

Damien nodded, rubbing his arm.

“I like to make dolls, and people find that creepy.” He said.

There were other reasons on top of that, but that was the main issue people liked to pick up.

“You make dolls? Cool.” Nathaniel said. “I have a friend who makes dolls too. Though, I think she only did it for a short while.”

Damien looked at him.

“You don’t think it’s creepy?” He asked.

Nathaniel shook his head.

“Why should I?”

“Because everyone else says it is!” Damien burst out.

“Well, they’re all snot nose brats, so you shouldn’t care about what they say.” Nathaniel said.

Damien gave a burst of laughter.

“How good are you?” Nathaniel asked.

“I…I’d say I’m good with it.” Damien said, feeling more at ease with Nathaniel now. “I’ve learned how to make all types of dolls.”

Nathaniel hummed.

“Maybe you could teach a shop.” He suggested.

“Huh?” Damien questioned.

“There’s a local craft shop that allows people to run their own craft classes. Maybe you could teach others how to make dolls, I’m sure you get at least a few people who are interested.” Nathaniel explained.

“I…I could do that?” Damien said, amazed at the possibility of meeting and teaching others who enjoy his hobby.

“Well, I think you’d need your parents’ permission or something. But I don’t see why not.” Nathaniel shrugged.

Damien went silent as he contemplated this.

Finally, they arrived at Damien’s home.

“Thanks, for walking me home.” Damien said as he opened his front door.

“No problem.” Nathaniel said. “And try talking to more people about your bullying issue. There’s bound to be someone who can help you.”

“Okay.” Damien said, disappearing inside and shutting his door.

Nathaniel sighed and continued down the street towards his own home. It was rather late in the day and he just wanted to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Comment.  
> Like with Luka and Marinette, I decided to give Adrien/Kagami a go (give the two pairings some love because you know that canon is going to mess them up).  
> For this story, the Rooster and Goat are meant to be a matching pair in terms of abilities.  
> The Rooster is the “buffer” of the team, able to refresh others if their tired, give them an extra boost in speed, agility and strength, etc. This comes from how Roosters signal the morning and a fresh start to the day. The ability also goes well with the weapon I gave the Rooster, that being a Rag-Dung trumpet, which can be long enough to fight with like a staff, and blowing into the trumpet could activate the ability.  
> On the other side, the Goat would be the “debuffer” of the team, making targeted enemies loose energy, slow down, and even fall asleep if they’re weak enough. This comes from the idea of counting sheep. And the hobby goat for a weapon came from one of the people I watch on Tumblr, I can’t remember which.  
> No character concept drawings this time, I’ve got no time or creative energy to spare for drawing right now.  
> You should be able to find an old drawing of Doll Maker if you dig through my DeviantART gallery, and look to “MiraculousKiwi” on Twitter for an idea of how Rooster-Nathaniel and Goat-Marc will look, at least until I come up with my own designs.  
> …  
> Though I’m putting effort into giving Casey more of her own personality, rather than just the admittedly self-insert she was last time, I still like to use how I remember my teen years to be as inspiration.  
> Nathaniel, Marc and Casey’s discussion was inspired by my experience with the LGBT+ spectrum. Because the idea of being Asexual/Aromantic is something relatively new, it wasn’t something that really came up in Sex-Ed or in media, so I had no idea they were options. So, up until I was 18, I was under the impression that I had to be a Lesbian, because I knew for certain that I didn’t like boys, even though I had zero interest in girls as well. Thankfully, I did eventually find out about Asexuality, and then Aromanticism, later on.

**Author's Note:**

> I know there are quite a few things that don’t make sense right now, like the villain, the Fox Miraculous ending up in the hands of evil, the unnamed temp’ hero, etc.  
> Basically, I made a few changes to canon, but I didn’t want to start at the beginning to address the changes as they came because there wasn’t enough to write engaging chapters and I wanted to get to the Peacock stuff as soon as possible. So, my compromise is to address the changes in this chapter, and hopefully properly explain how these changes happened in future chapters. So, if you’re still confused about things, write it in the comments of this and future chapters, so I can make sure that it’s not only making sense in my head.  
> Since six of the Miraculous are unknown power & weapon wise, I’m going to have to make up stuff for them until canon fills in the blanks. You’ll get my version of the Miraculous powers and weapons as they appear in future chapters.  
> I’ve already done art, doing a rework of my character of Casey from the original story, if any of you want to see her. Check out my DeviantART at DreamVixen2511 and my Tumblr at Asexual Individual.  
> https://www.deviantart.com/dreamvixen2511/art/Casey-Brook-rework-concepts-847254867  
> https://asexual-individual.tumblr.com/image/622389296614277121


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